Away
by Marka.Carbondale
Summary: [AU][RoyEd HeiEd] When Edward Elric enters High School, he manages to fall for tennis playing senior Roy Mustang, but Roy Mustang has a secret, and some ghosts haunting him. Used to be Every Fan Gets a Prize, but then it decided to get a real title.
1. Prologue

**Every Fan Gets a Prize**

**—xx—**

**Edward Elric downed a sixth can** of soda and slammed the aluminum cylinder on his desk, letting out a loud groan. The overload of caffeine in the short span of time was really making him drunk, or a least sending him on a sugar high big enough to make him tipsy in some way or another. He stared down his homework, half finished and dotted with little brown dots from his coke from the many _other _times he had slammed his can down and it had sprayed and sputtered out across the wood. He leaned back, his head going towards the ceiling.

"And he plays_ tennis_. Tennis! Who the _fuck_ plays _tennis?_" He continued out of nowhere, finishing a conversation or sentence from minutes before. "He walks around school and acts like he's a jock or whatever," he was yelling now, "The tennis team are just a bunch of skipping **losers**. Maybe if he played a **real** sport, I could _respect him_ and—"

"EDWARD, SHUT UP!" A loud scream came from down the hall. Winry cut him off, as she did many nights. Edward tended to go through sodas like water, something the Granny Rockbell didn't _exactly_ appreciate. He scowled at her through the wall and went back to his homework.

"Come on, Edward, don't be a retard," a voice behind him said, but Edward didn't jump. As always, this voice came to him, mostly because he wanted it to. "Hurry up and finish your homework so we can get to bed."

A hand touched his shoulder and Edward looked up, seeing Roy Mustang. He rolled his eyes and groaned, "Why are _you_ here?"

"Well, Ed, I think that_ you_ could have figured that one out."

"I know _why_ you're here," he moved his eyes back to his homework again, "that's obvious, but… gah! You know when you say things like that, it hardly makes the experience real."

"Edward, the experience isn't going to be real, mostly because I'm imaginary."

Edward groaned as his pencil scratched, "That's what I _mean_, at least you could _try_."

Roy kneeled down, "But you're controlling me, my dear."

Edward turned in his seat, "But you have just a tiny bit of control, and you know that."

Roy grinned, "I suppose, but it's not very much."

"Think of it this way, Roy," Edward speculated, "Would I ever have you say, 'my dear?'"

Roy pushed off his feet and onto the floor, supporting himself with his hands behind him, "I guess not, my almighty master, Edward."

Edward turned back in his seat and groaned with a slight smile, "What will I do with you?"

"Whatever you like," Roy whispered, "I'm yours, remember."

"Please, control yourself, Mustang."

"Please, do your homework, Edward."

Edward scratched into the paper and the noises in the room disappeared instantly. No more figment Roy. Edward was alone in his thoughts, which happened to be focused on his homework.

**—xx—**

**At the beginning of the year, **a couple of weeks back, Edward was merely a freshman, entering Bradley High School for the very first time. Okay, so not for the very first time. Edward had taken summer courses there, and then a year before that, he had taken SAT prep there. Edward, upon entering the seventh grade—or possibly school—had his sights set on one thing. Excelling. One person managed to screw that all up for him, because as he entered that school, the varsity tennis team had just let out of morning practice, and a raven-haired senior walked by him.

Now Edward probably wouldn't have even noticed them if they weren't making a lot of noise, and he certainly wouldn't have noticed Roy if he hadn't been leading the group. Edward had watched the guy lead with a certain self-confidence that could only be overcome when he smirked, _right at Edward_.

If it weren't for the people pushing him into the building, he probably would have just kept staring at him, and he actually attempted this while moving. Unfortunately, the team was heading the opposite way down the hall that the freshman group was going. They were going to the gym's locker rooms; he was going to the auditorium. Simple as that.

He actually hadn't snapped out of it until Winry plopped down next to him and began talking a mile a minute—as usual. He focused on the opening speech, pushing the unnamed tennis player from his mind; yet, it still lingered towards the front of his mind.

Edward learned the player's name later that week. Roy Mustang. Edward half snorted when he heard it, of course he could have a name like that. A strong, first name, and a fast, semi-expensive car that everyone fawned ever and wanted for themselves—Edward included. Edward couldn't help but wonder how a _tennis_ player could be so popular, after all, tennis wasn't a real jock sport, so what was going on? It really actually should have been obvious. Roy was a very self-assured person with looks that could kill. Turns out he was also intelligent, too. This made him very popular with the ladies, and they flocked to see him gracefully smack a ball around on the tennis court. This made tennis popular. This made Roy popular. Simple as that.

But Edward couldn't help but wonder still. Tennis was _boring_, he even heard some of Roy's fans comment about that, yet they all talked excitedly about going to every match, as if it were an exam or some sort of all-important class prep. Sure enough, they all attended. Edward, as much as he actually wanted to go to the games, didn't. He couldn't seem to muster up enough confidence to sit with all the girls—after all, he'd look gay, and then he'd be pestered. Not something he wanted with his rep during his freshman year.

As Edward was a freshman and Roy a senior, the two didn't see each other much. True enough, Edward was in a lot of very high up classes—despite the fact that he had skipped a grade—but Roy was in practically all Honors classes. Any classes that weren't were filler classes like pottery that Edward wasn't interested in and hadn't included in his schedule. On a very scarce and lucky occasion, the two would bump into each other in the hallway, sometime when one or both were out during class for various reasons, or in the morning or afternoon. Otherwise their paths would not cross. Once in a while, when they did, Roy would speak to Edward. Not anything intense, just simple things. One day, a lengthy one happened upon them in the middle of fourth period.

"Oh, hey," Roy smiled at the freshman who was passing him down the deserted hall, "hey you!"

Edward looked up at the voice, but then realized that it was none other than Roy Mustang. He nearly blushed but somehow contained himself. What to do, what to do. He couldn't show his secret admiration and affection for him, no that wouldn't do, so he would have to do the complete opposite.

"What?" He replied, just a little too harshly.

"Jeez, I just had a question, kid." He stared at him for a second, as if to find something deeper, making Edward uncomfortable. "Do I know you?"

Edward shrugged nervously, "No, why?"

Roy raised an eyebrow, "What's your deal?"

"What's yours?"

There was silence for a while, where Edward was expecting the man to yell or insult or even lash out, but instead, his face broke out into a smile. He fought back another blush.

"You're funny, kid." Roy approached him, "Anyway, my question was that did you catch the score of the football team last night."

Edward took this chance to really study Mustang. He had a very clean, white complexion that made Edward jealous. Edward sometimes felt a little uneasy about his burned, tan, and pale all at once skin tone, though no one noticed, and the one person he had actually told this about told him "you're crazy, now go to sleep." This was Alphonse. His black hair seemed pleasurable untamable, not in any bad way of any sort. He was much, much taller than Edward, and he had an athletic body, but he didn't have gross, overpowering muscles. Edward could feel himself drooling

"Hello?" Roy snapped his fingers in front of his face, "Hey, kid, wake up."

Edward blinked before furrowing his brow, "Quit calling me 'kid;' I'm not even that young."

Roy smirked, "How old are you, 12? You look like a seventh grader, do you even belong here? You're awful short for a freshman, even."

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SO DAMN SHORT THAT HE COULD PASS FOR A FIRST GRADER THAT SKIPPED A GRADE AND STARTED SCHOOL EARLY?" Edward shouted, face turning bright red. His voice echoed down the hallway and back. Roy had taken a step backwards, in fear of killing his hearing and of the boy in front of him. Edward, after realizing that he had screamed out another rant, flushed even deeper and said, "I'm fourteen, you bastard."

Roy blinked and stared at him for a second. "Hey, kid, ever hear of Ritalin?" He smirked again and said, "Fourteen, huh? I still say you look twelve, but, hey, whatever you say."

Having the same urges of wanting to kiss someone and hit them over the head with an aluminum bat is a very strange feeling. Edward stared up at the raven-haired upperclassman with these exact feelings in his mind. "What's your problem with me, you stupid bastard? No, I don't know your stupid football score."

"You know, shrimp, it's not very proper for freshmen to address seniors that way, especially senior _athletes_." He smiled, "You should really be more respectful."

"Why the hell should I be respectful to _you_?" Edward turned on his heels and started to walk down the hall towards his locker. He really didn't mean to be this mean to him, but Roy's quick wit and mean sense of humor wasn't making it hard to want to smack him.

But as he walked away, Roy, once again, stopped him. "So, what's your name?"

This made Edward turn once again, mostly because this guy was showing interest in him, even if he was a stupid bastard in Edward's eyes. "Edward. Edward Elric."

"Well, Edward, Edward Elric," Roy joked, "What are you doing here in the halls?"

"Ha ha," Edward said dully, "Very, very funny, Mr. Mustang. I'm getting my English textbook that I have left in my locker. If you'll excuse me, I can get—"

"I see you know _my_ name." Roy smirked, "English, huh? Who've you got?"

Edward rolled his eyes at the thought of his dull English teacher, "Dr. Kelsey."

He saw Roy shudded, "Oh, I'm sorry." He clenched his teeth. "But in this case, that is quite fortunate." He smirked, "C'mon, come with me."

"What?"

"Just a few minutes, then I'll let you go back to class, he won't notice." Roy walked ahead of the blonde, and he had no choice but to follow him.

There was a silence as Edward followed the tall senior down the hall before he asked, "What are you doing out here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Roy said, turning to him, "I'm cutting class."

Edward's eyes widened, "What?" He blinked. "I thought that you were, like an awesome student or something. How can you get good grades and have all the teachers like you if you don't go to class?"

"Ah, my freshy-friend, you have it mixed up." He walked to Edward, "_Because_ I get good—oh, who are we kidding—_fantastic_ grades and all the teachers _love_ me, I can skip class. You have to do that part first. They'll either brush it off or they won't notice. Depends on the class. Of course, you can't do it with every teacher and every class. I definitely would _not _skip Chem. That would be a disaster."

Edward stood awestruck. "You're _crazy_."

"If that's what you wanna think, sure." Roy said, smiling slightly, "But either way, follow me."

As they walked, Roy chattered about something, but Edward wasn't listening. He was too busy trying to sort out what was happening. How the _hell_ was he walking here, talking to Roy _Mustang_? Edward shook his head, this was impossible. It had to be a dream. He stared up at him as he continued on about some team. Edward blinked. Even though he had been a total jackass to him, he was still here, walking and talking with the one person that seemed to stop his dreams. He couldn't help it. The words just sort of…fell from his mouth.

"Why are you talking to me?" he blurted. He covered his mouth with his hands and Roy stopped talking, having been interrupted.

"What?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you talking to me? I mean, you _just_ met me and I'm just a freshman. You're a popular senior and I've just been mean to you. You should _hate_ me."

Roy stared. "What, do you not _want_ me to talk to you? You can go back to class if you want. I'm not stopping you."

"No, that's not what I mean." Edward shrugged, "It just seems kind of weird."

"I don't know, Ed," he replied, calling him by his name for the second time, "I guess you're interesting. You're the first person to talk to me like that, say what you want. You're _also_ a freshman, so it shows me you have spunk. I don't know. People seem intimidated by me, like if they say something wrong I'll hate them or something." He walked to the railing by one of the windows and leaned over it. "You're kind of weird and kind of cool, Edward."

Blush explosion.

"Oh, t-thanks, Roy." He cursed himself for stuttering. "So you're on the tennis team then?"

Roy stood up and blinked, "Uh, yeah."

"Oh, sorry, I'm just trying to create conversation, so just go along with it, you bastard." Edward growled.

"How did you go from apologizing to me to insulting me?" He blinked, "you're crazy."

"Shut up, you're stupid." Edward leaned his back up against the railing.

"No. I'm not." Roy said, leaning against the railing again, "I'm the top of my class, thank you."

"So? So am I."

Roy stared, "You're a freak, kid."

"I told you not to call me kid."

"What would you prefer? Shrimp would probably do." He smirked.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO CARRY A NICKNAME AS IT IS SO BIG THAT IT WOULD CRUSH HIM BECAUSE HE'S SUCH A SHRIMP!" Edward steamed.

"I didn't say anything like that. It doesn't even make sense." Roy pointed out. "I could call you freak, you know. That would definitely suit you."

"How about I call you 'the biggest fucking bastard to walk the earth?'" Edward suggested, "That might be putting it lightly though."

"Temper, Temper," Roy sighed, "Ah, I see that you're going to do well here." Roy stared out into the fields for a second, "You like tennis?" he wondered.

Edward blinked, "Uh, no, why?"

Roy turned to him and smiled, "no reason."

"Uh, okay." He said.

For a while the two just stared out at the warm Los Angeles landscape. If you stared really hard, you could see the coast line in the background. Palm trees blew in the wind and Edward longed to push forward and throw the window open. Roy smiled softly at the sun before speaking up, "You should probably go back to class."

Edward pushed off the railing and nodded. "Whatever."

Roy smirked, "R-I-T-A-L-I-N, Edward. Ritalin."

"I don't need Ritalin, you bastard."

"That's what they all say."

"You're a real mother fucker."

"Ow, such language breaks my heart from such a young boy."

"Fuck you. Fuck fuck fuck."

"You know that if a teacher hears you, you're screwed."

"Good for me."

Roy rolled his eyes as Edward reached for his locker door. "What are you doing?"

"Getting my books. That's what I came out here for, you idiot."

"Sorry, kid, I have more important things to do than track why you're out in the hall."

Edward grabbed his English book and slammed his door. "I wish you would just shut up."

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why do you wish I would shut up?"

"Because, you're as annoying as hell."

"Yet you're still talking to me."

"Shut up."

"No." Roy smiled.

"Well," Edward growled, "unless you would like to continue this conversation with yourself, you have to, because this is my classroom."

Roy frowned, "Fine. Go back to class."

"What's wrong, are you gonna _miss_ me?" Edward smirked in front of the door.

"Nah," Roy said, "It'll be kind of boring without anyone in the hallway, but I'll manage. There's stuff to do when everyone's in class."

"You should go back to class, Mustang." Edward said, frowning, "You shouldn't skip class if you want to be top of your class."

"Who says I _want_ to be?" Roy said, "I just _am_."

Edward smiled, "Whatever. Are you sure he's not going to notice?"

"Yeah, I used to go to the vending machines in his classes all the time when I was in English I."

"Alright, If he doesn't let me in, I'm gonna blame you." Edward said.

"Like he'll believe you. Want a licorice? I've got a ton in my pocket."

"What?"

He pulled a strip of red licorice from his jacket pocket, "Here. I don't even know why I have these. See ya later."

"Sure, you wish." Edward said, placing his hand on the knob. Roy walked down the hallway whistling some crazy tune and kicking his feet. Edward rolled his eyes and whispered, "What a freak." He opened the door, and sure enough, the teacher didn't even turn from the board. Edward smirked as his friend stared at him in awe. Sitting down next to Russel, he smiled sweetly.

A tap went on the back of his shoulder and he turned around, "What?"

Envy. Ok, Thomas. Not a very becoming name. He chose Envy. "Where the _hell_ where you?"

"In the hall, duh."

"No shit, what were you doing?" He pushed a lock of green hair from his face.

"I ran into a senior and we talked."

"Ooh! A senior?" Winry cut in from behind him, "Who? What was his name?"

"It was Roy Mustang."

Winry stared. "You're kidding. What's he like?"

He started to say that he was nice, but then he realized. Roy Mustang had really been bittersweet. "He's a real bastard."

"You talked to someone that bad for that long?" Russel said with a questioning look on his face.

"You'd be surprised." Edward then ended the conversation by turning to face the lecture about the Golden Gate bridge. Thrills beyond belief.

**—xx—**

**Edward finally dropped his** pencil and let out a sigh. Finally, he was done with his homework. He stood up and heard the voice come back.

"God, finally, you're done." Figment Roy was leaning against the wall, "I think I could have only waited a few more minutes."

"God _damnit_ you are such a _liar_." Edward said, "Like you even had to wait."

"You said to make it more real. Would you like me to go back to before? You're such an idiot."

"Shut up. I need to change."

"You're so nice to me."

"Would you like me to be all cuddly? That'd be boring."

"For you, maybe."

"Yeah, well, you aren't real." Edward said, retreating to his closet.

"Shut up."

"Now you're sounding like me." Edward said in sing-song from the closet.

"Heh, sure."

Edward emerged from the closet and climbed in to his bed. He felt the bed depress as Figment Roy moved in on him and put his arms around him. They were neither warm nor cold. They were simply there around him, and somehow, it hurt.

Before he drifted off to sleep, Edward made a list in his mind.

**Things to Remember: **

Figment Roy kind of sucks

That licorice is going to go bad soon

Homework is evil

I bet the real Roy is better than Figment Roy

Saving myself for Roy is not an easy task

Try to think about Roy a little less.

_**A/N:** Damn. I've done it. I've jumped into the AU pool. Please, just shoot me now. I know… the age difference of Roy and Ed is just… smaller. You're all thinking, Roy should be a teacher. How will it work? Well I have one thing to say to you:_

_Shut up._

_o.o I know. I know. I've completely slaughtered the character of Roy. Making him a teenager had to make him a little more careless right? Right? I hope. I promise that if you don't like it, you will eventually. I'll try my hardest and please feel free to give me any suggestions if you like. PLEASE! Alright. I must go. I hope you liked my first chapter._

_Love,  
Ales_

_Psh… and the imaginary thing… It's going somewhere._


	2. School

**Disclaimer: I forgot to remind you all last chapter. No. I don't. I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. There, you happy? You should be. I know I am. "I wish I could go fishing and catch a fish stick; that would be convenient." I'm done. Oh yeah, I also don't own Hope and her 'ehehing' either. I wish I could own Hope . **

**Chapter Two – School**

**A/N: The 'eheh' is pronounced as Hope says it is, "eh- then a very loud prononced 'HEH'" That is what she told me, that is what it is. She says, "Eheh has more of an effect if you know how it's said."**

**—xx—**

**Edward blinked in the bright morning sunlight as he, **Winry, and his brother Alphonse stepped out of their house. As they walked, Winry immediately took lead of the conversation. As she chatted mindlessly, Edward dazed off into his own little world, as he did many morning. Usually, this was because of his not being a morning person, and remaining half asleep for an hour or two after waking up. Today he thought about Figment Roy, and he wasn't sure why. The thought just sort of popped into his mind. The question lingering in his mind was this: When exactly had Figment Roy entered his life. He thought very hard and remembered a night that struck right.

It was about two weeks ago. Edward was in his room steadily doing his homework, when behind him a voice came. It was warm and soothing and normally, had an unknown voice been in his room, he would have probably jumped or screamed or started throwing things in its direction. But he knew this voice. It was familiar. And as he turned around, he confirmed that the voice, did, in fact, belong to Roy Mustang.

"Hey, Edward."

Or so he thought.

"W-whoa! What are _you_ doing here?" Edward said, wide eyed.

Roy simply smiled.

"How did you even get _in_ here?" Edward pushed his chair out to approach him.

"You," Roy whispered.

"What the fuck does _that_ even mean?" Edward looked up at him angrily.

"I'll give you a hint," he smiled again—and it was _creepy_. He lifted a finger and pointed right at Edward's forehead.

"What?" Edward moved a hand up to his forehead and held it there. "_What?_ Just say it, you bastard!"

"Edward, I'm not _real_," still whispering. It was weird and—wait, _what?_

"Whaddya mean, you aren't _real_?" Edward raised an eyebrow about as far as it can go, "You're standing there talking to me; of course you're real."

"I-M-A-G-I-N-A-R-Y," He spelled, tracing the letters in the air with a finger.

Edward snorted, "What?"

"Imaginary, Edward."

"I _know_, I can spell," Edward rolled his eyes, "what I mean is, how the fuck can you be imaginary."

"You can test it if you like," He had stopped whispering, answering Edward's wishes.

"Hmm?" Edward said, trying his best to look interested, but listening carefully.

"Here, Edward," Roy said, "I want you to stand there and think. Think of anything you'd like me to do, and I guarantee that I'll do it."

"Right," Edward snorted again.

"Just do it," Roy sneered, "It's not like it can _hurt _if I _am_ real."

"Uh," Edward said, not able to find a response. "Uh, whatever, I'll do it."

Roy took a few steps back as Edward leaned against the desk. He stared at Roy for a while with a pout on his face and then thought to himself, _Oh, well, I guess it _won't _hurt._ There was a silence for a while and then Roy approached him, putting his arms around Edward.

"Hmm," Roy smirked, "How… expected."

Edward flushed severely and then pushed him off. "T-that d-doesn't p-p-p-p-prove, "He choked, "a-anything."

"Really? Then do it again."

Edward, still bright pink, thought again. This time, Roy walked and sat down on the bed and said softly, "Join me?"

Edward's nose exploded with blood and he grabbed for a tissue on the desk, shoving several to his nose. As he held them Roy stood up and said, "So, you believe it now?" Roy bent down and smiled into his eyes, reaching to hold the tissue to his nose. "Or would you like me to do something else?"

Edward shook his head. He definitely believed him.

Ever since, Edward was visited by his Figment Roy almost every night. Every one of those nights, Edward would climb into bed and Figment Roy would be right there next to him. Still, when he slept with him, he would not feel anything. It wasn't even as though there was someone in the room with him. He would shiver every several minutes as though Figment Roy was a ghost. He blinked. Real Roy would be nice.

"Edward?"

Edward growled under his breath.

"What, Winry?"

Winry smiled at him. "I just thought you should be awake when we cross this street. It is kind of busy."

Edward crossed his arms behind his head, "I can't wait until I get my driver's license. Just two more years."

Winry chuckled, "Edward, I think they have a set height you have to be to get your license, and you would probably fall _short_."

Edward grumbled loudly, "GOD DAMMIT WINRY, I AM SO SICK OF YOUR FUCKING SHORT JOKES! YOU'RE JUST BITTER BECAUSE _I'M_ GETTING _MY_ LICENSE BEFORE _YOU_."

Alphonse chuckled from the other side of Winry, "Calm down, brother, it's still early."

"Maybe I'll drive and not give _either_ of you a ride."

Winry whined, "No, Ed! You _have_ to give _me_ a ride!"

Alphonse just laughed before saying, "Alright, guys, see you later!" He parted from them and walked up to the hill towards the Jr. High.

The two were silent as they walked to the High School. The Los Angeles sun beat down on Edward, right into his black long sleeve shirt under his red polo. When Winry saw that Edward was uncomfortable, she quickly knew why.

"You know, Edward, you don't _have _to wear that undershirt. A lot of people have automail."

"No," Edward corrected, "A lot of _adults_ have automail. Usually, teenagers don't have automail, let alone kids, and I've had mine since first grade."

"Still," Winry scoffed, "You don't have to _hide_ it."

Edward smiled, "I know the only reason you say that is because you want to show off your mechanics."

Winry scowled, "Well, there's _that_ too… but really, if you're uncomfortable always hiding it, no one would care. You could just wear it—"

"I don't want the attention," Edward interrupted, gaze straight forward.

Winry looked away, twisting a blonde lock in her finger, "Whatever."

The two were silent as they walked into the school parking lot, but Edward turned to her and smiled. "Thanks, though, Winry. I'm just really more comfortable not revealing it. Maybe when I'm older or something."

Winry nodded and they entered the school. They parted ways for a while and Edward went straight to his locker. He opened it and began to grab his books but a loud voice grabbed his attention instead.

"HEY, FAG!"

Edward wheeled around with a look of fright on his face as a green-dyed hair, pale faced, green eyed Thomas 'Envy' Alexander approached him. He growled loudly as the smirk on his face deepened.

"_Damnit Envy, I swear to fucking God," _Edward screamed in a loud whisper, "_Don't say that!_"

Long ago, Edward had regretted mentioning Roy Mustang's name and good looking in the same sentence around Envy. He actually hadn't mentioned it to _him_, but instead to his more _faithful _friend Russell Tringham Envy just happened to overhear.

Envy continued to smirk. "Calm down, shrimp. It's not like anyone takes that seriously."

Edward growled, "Who the_ hell_ are you calling so small that they can't be taken seriously?"

Envy blinked, "That was quiet. Why did you whisper, shorty?"

Edward blinked, "OKAY, **_THOMAS ALEXANDER, _**IF YOU WANTED ME TO SHOUT, YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST SAID SO!"

Envy's brow furrowed, "I told you not to call me by that curse of a name."

Edward smirked, "I wouldn't if you wouldn't call me that five letter word."

"Fine," Envy huffed, pushing his headband up, making his hair stand up even further. "For now anyway."

He pushed Edward out of the way and walked down the hall, his black pants swishing. Edward shrugged with a sigh. How had even become friends with that freak? He turned back to his locker and mumbled under his breath, "Talk about your love-hate relationship."

He began retrieving his books once again as the locker next to him opened. A taller blonde head poked out from the locker to the left of him and smiled. "Hey, Ed."

Edward shrugged, "Hey, Russ. What's up?"

Russell blinked, "Not much," he yawned, "Last night I pulled an all nighter."

"What for?" Edward questioned.

"Stupid plant," He shrugged, rubbing his eyes, "I had to watch it because it kept closing its stupid mouth and I had to keep watering it."

"Ahh," Edward bragged, "The wonders of chemistry."

"Shut up."

"Hey," Edward said, closing his locker, "_you_ chose it."

"Yeah, I guess." Russell's eyes drifted to Edward's black longsleeve. "Okay, I know you have to cover up the automail, but _black?_ You're just asking for a heat stroke."

"Yeah, yeah," Edward rolled his eyes, "I've already gone over this with Winry this morning. Could you spare me?"

"Hey, your funeral."

"Eheh."

"What's that?"

"What?'

"That 'eheh?'"

"Fake laugh," Edward said, blinking.

"A _fake_ laugh?"

"Yeah, to your lame joke."

"Oh."

"…" Edward shrugged, turning from his friend, "Eheh."

Russell followed him as they walked down to Homeroom, which they had together. As aforementioned, Edward had skipped a grade, even though he is same age as everyone else in his grade. There is a simple story that goes along with this. In early first grade, Edward had an accident where he lost his right arm and left leg. He had to get automail surgery and missed most of the grade, causing him to lose credit for that grade. He was put in the same class as his year-younger brother Alphonse for about a month, but because of his obvious genius, he was quickly moved back up to his class. Technically he skipped a grade.

"Edward, did you do the English homework?" Russell inquired.

"Yeah, why?"

Russell blinked, "I had to stay up with the stupid plant and do the notes on it. No time for English."

Edward smiled, "And you want to see mine. Sure."

Russell let out a sigh, "Thanks, you're such a life saver."

As they entered the room they took seats in the back as usual and, also as usual, Winry was already there. Winry was already there, and talking loudly.

Edward plopped down next to her, "GOD WINRY," Edward shouted to draw attention to her, "DO YOU_ EVER_ SHUT UP?"

Winry blushed angrily,"Are you retarded?"

"If I am, at least I don't _flaunt_ it, like you."

"You're such a jerk." Winry growled, "Piss off."

"Ooh," Russell cut in, "Temper, temper. Ed, give me that homework. I need to copy it ASAP."

Edward nodded and began fishing through his bag for the paper. Upon retrieving it, he held it up and Russell snatched it from his hands.

"God," Winry said with a sigh, "You guys are just a couple of cheaters."

"Winry," Russell said from his scratching pencil, "I don't like to call it 'cheating.' I prefer the term 'shared work.'"

"Besides," Edward cut in, "You do it too when you have a big automail order."

"That's different," Winry pointed out, "That's work."

"Well," Russell said, eyes darting from paper to paper, "I had to watch a particularly needy carnivorous plant. That's also work."

"No, that's _school_ work."

"Also known as preparatory work," Russell stated, "prepping me for work."

"Don't make shit up."

Edward leaned back in his chair and reached for the apple waiting for him in his bag. It was always fun to watch these two bicker every morning. Usually, it was about Russell's botany and Winry's mechanics. Each of them tried to compare one to the other, stating that the other's wasn't an actual line of work. Edward never tried to stop them; it was always fun to watch them bicker, because they could never win. Both were right _and_ wrong. It was like never ending entertainment.

Russell kept scratching Edward's answers into his paper, making sure to change wording as he shot arguments at Winry Rockbell. Winry was on the edge of her seat, hanging over her desk, her hair straying from the bandana she had trapped it under minutes before the boys had entered the room. Russell finished the last answer and pulled the paper up from the desk and shoved it into Ed's chest. "There, finished."

Edward, surprised at the fast paced "shared work" that Russell had done, commented, "So soon? I was hoping my paper could get to know you better."

"Eheh." Russell commented dryly.

"What's that?" The mousy brown haired girl next to Winry named Sheska asked.

"Hmm?"

"Yeah, what is that?" Winry questioned.

"A fake laugh," Edward and Russell said simultaneously.

The two girls blinked. "Uh, okay."

"Why does no one get that?" Edward mumbled.

The three shrugged as the bell rang. "See you in English, Edward," Russell commented, waving.

"Yeah, see you guys, too."

The four parted their ways as Edward headed to Physics.

—**xx—**

**As third hour rolled by slowly, Edward had a **very strong urge to get up and leave. Social Sciences made his stomach churn, it was so boring. It didn't help that the only person he knew that he had this class with was a girl named Maria Ross, who was quiet most of the time. He stared at the inspirational posters for a few minutes before he decided that he couldn't take it. His hand shot in the air and the teacher called on him.

"Yes, Edward," she drawled.

"Bathroom pass?"

She even _nodded_ slowly. He jumped from the seat and grabbed the pass hanging by the door, making his quick getaway.

Ever since Edward and Roy and taken their walk during fourth hour, Edward had taken a liking to leaving class. Often, nonetheless. He took the lanyard pass on his finger and swung it in a circle as he whistled down the hall, in the opposite direction of the restroom. He fished in his jeans pocket for his wallet, retrieving it and heading straight for the vending machines. As he selected something to eat, he heard two older girls talking against his locker. Was it just him or did no one go to class in this school? He listened as they continued talking loudly.

"Gawd, he was _so_ ah-mazing." One girl with a valley girl voice commented.

"I _know_," this other girl had no accent, "That black hair, too, he is _so_ great."

"I heard he doesn't, like, do girls or nothing." Valley Girl smacked her lips.

"I _know_," Other Girl repeated, "I wish I could get me some of that."

"You don't, like, think he's a virgin or nothing, do you?" Valley Girl paused and popped her gum, "I mean, that, like, couldn't be possible, right?"

"No, _way,_" Other Girl was pretty convinced. Edward bent and grabbed his candy. They weren't talking about… Roy? Were they? "I mean, I _know_ he's a good guy and everything, but, they guy is so fucking hot!"

"No _kidding!_" Valley Girl popped her gum, "He, like, prolly just doesn't fuck the fans, Ales."

"Whatever," Other Girl a.k.a. Ales said dryly. "Damn, what I wouldn't give to be his girlfriend. I would so love to bang him. Roy is so fucking beautiful."

Edward blinked, taking a bite of the chocolate. So they _were _talking about Roy! Jesus, man, what the hell have you been doing? He took change from his pocket and put it in the vending machine and getting another chocolate bar. As if on cue, he turned right into Roy, who was standing behind him with a smirk on his face.

"What the hell do you want?" Edward had gotten used to insulting Roy with Figment Roy.

"I thought that was you, kid." Roy smirked.

"Whatever."

"I see that I have inspired you to leave class as well."

"Please," Edward snorted, "anyone would have left Social Sciences."

"True, true." Roy cut in front of him to get to the machine.

There was a short silence as Edward tipped back and forth on his toes and ripped into a second candy bar. He stared at the back of Roy's messy hair head and his mind was flooded with dirty thoughts. He shook his head and they dispersed. One question rolled on the tip of his tongue, and when he opened his mouth, it fell out.

"Who the hell is Ales?"

Roy paused and shivered. "Oh, please, tell me you didn't meet her."

"Well, not _exactly_." Edward said, "I just overheard her talking about you."

"Oh, well." Roy bent over and grabbed his food before turning around. "She is crazy."

"Like…" Edward waited for him to speculate.

"Well, she's known me since we started school, and she's pretty nice and everything, but a little stalkerish.'

_You got that right,_ Edward thought.

"Ok, no, she's _way_ stalkerish. She follows me all the time and says she knows all these secrets about me to her friends. I swear," Roy sighed, opening the bag of chips, "I make out with her _once_ and she acts like she owns me."

"WHAT?" Edward blurted. "You did _what?_"

"Jesus," Roy said in a hush, "keep your voice down, it is the middle of class!" Roy popped a potato chip in his mouth, chewed and swallowed, the continued. "Yeah, we made out once, but we never went out or anything. I don't really like getting attached to one girl. It's weird." He shrugged, "Now she acts like she's special."

Edward blinked, "Just how many girls have you…?"

Roy blinked, "Many."

"Slut," Edward mumbled.

"Hey, you say poh-tay-toe, I say poh-tah-toe." Roy shrugged, "My way gets me ladies."

"Yeah," Edward pointed out, "And lots of sexually transmitted diseases."

"Hey, I _make out_ with the girls; I don't fuck 'em." Roy leaned against the machine, "I'm a _slut, _not a _whore._"

Edward laughed at this.

"I'd advise staying away from Ales." Roy said, but then added, "No, wait, go befriend her. I bet she'd like you; then she'd leave me alone."

"That's terrible!"

"You don't know Ales."

"I guess." Edward finished his candy, "Besides, she sounds pretty damn devoted to you."

Roy let out a very heavy, very fake sad sigh, "It's all a terrible price when you're beautiful! Something _you_ wouldn't know about, freshy."

"Fuck you, I'm going back to class." Edward crumpled up the wrapper and tossed it in a trash can. "Bye, Mustang."

"Bye, Edward." Roy pushed off the vending machine and into the opposite hallway of Edward's.

As the two parted, Edward smiled. _It was actually fun talking to the bastard_, he half admitted to himself, but then caught himself, _But, y'know, only sometimes._

**_A/N:_** _Okay, let me explain the 'eheh' thing. I have a friend. Her name is Hope. She was talking to me on the phone about how on this board she posted the word 'eheh' to a bad joke. A bunch of people asked her what it meant and though _I_ got it, many people still don't. I thought it was pretty damn funny. You might not. Oh well._

_Also, I know, I know. I entered myself into the story. I really wanted to there to be a crazy Roy stalker, and I thought, who better than **me?** I love Roy. He is wonderful. I think that you will like Ales da Stalker. She will develop a little more._

_I worked on this chapter all in one night, so you're welcome. It's also pretty lengthy. Please review._

_SPEAKING OF REVIEWS! Thank you thank you! TWENTY ONE REVIEWS FOR THE FIRST CHAPTER! That is the best I have ever done on any story! YOU GUYS ARE SO AWESOME –sobs in corner- PLEASE CONTINUE TO READ AND REVIEW MY STORY! _

_The next chapter will be good. It will either be the next or the one after._

_Alright, thanks for reading, my fantastic fandom!_

_**ALES (not the crazy stalker one, the writer one!)**_


	3. Mistake

**Disclaimer: I do not own L.A., but if I did, I would like it a lot. Los Angeles is the shiz. I could rule over it, and I would require that there be bagel shops every half mile. I also do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, and I am glad I do not. If I did, it would be poorly drawn, with a terrible story line, and it'd be nothing but Ed and Roy making out (which would be good sometimes.) However, I wish I owned Arakawa-sama. Then I could tell her, "Arakawa-sama, please write RoyEd or I will put you in the box." She would be scared. I don't own Hope, either, but I'm damn close. I wish I could own her. Then we would do 'the nasty.' By 'the nasty,' I mean, 'make pancakes and wipe the batter all over the house and people.' Jeez, get your mind out of the gutter. What did you think I was talking about? Sex? Psh. I don't need to own her to do that.**

**I do not own much.**

**Chapter 3 – Mistake**

**—xx—**

**By the time fourth hour had come and was drawling by, Edward** realized that he had not made a 'Things to Remember' list. Normally, when he did something with Roy he would make a special list. He always made one right before bed. He pulled out a piece of paper and thought for a bit. The lists had started in the fourth grade when he had decided that a diary was too much work, but his life was too important to be forgotten, so he should make a list of things not to forget. He grabbed a pencil and wrote on the list:

**Things to Remember  
Ales is crazy. Do not talk to her**

**That candy bar with the almonds in it is pretty good**

**Third hour is easy to skip**

**Roy's hair was extra messy today.**

**Messy hair looks good.**

**Fourth hour is boring**

**Russell should not look over my shoulder while I write these.**

He looked up. "What, you think that's funny? Eheh."

"You know you shouldn't read my TTR lists. I've told you that at least a dozen times."

"Yeah, but they're so interesting. I love the inner workings of Edward. Very interesting."

"What if I write something private, though, Russ?" Edward said, fake-looking puppy dog eyes forming.

"Edward," Russell said, ignoring the look on his face, "Those eyes don't even look endearing. Besides, what secrets are there about you that _I_ don't know."

_The fact that I have an imaginary friend who looks like Roy, talks like Roy, and acts like Roy that sleeps with me every night and keeps me company, _Edward thought to himself, scowling a little. "Yeah," he mumbled, "I guess you're right."

"Of course I am." Russell said, smirking and leaning back in his chair. He opened his mouth to say something, but then realized something and instead pulled out a piece of paper. He scribbled down on the paper and Edward watched, fascinated. He then ripped the paper into a small piece and handed it to Edward. It read:

_So, how _are_ things with King Mustang?_

Edward flushed and turned the paper over, scratching. _What?_

A new piece of paper came back, _Come on, Edward, I think it's probably not a good idea to deny it anymore. It's not like you _didn't_ tell me._

Edward blinked, _What I mean is… what do you think we're going to do? Would like me to remind you that a) he's a guy, b) I'm a guy, and c) he's a senior._

Russell let out a loud groan when he got his note and instead leaned over to whisper something in Edward's ear. "Yes," he hissed, "I _know_ these things, but there's still a small possibility. I mean you never know. For all you know, Mustang plays for your team."

"Russel, I am _not_ gay!" Edward scream whispered into his ear, causing his friend to wince. "I just like this one guy. He's an exception. Besides, he's a total bastard."

"I think," Russell added, "you mean total _babe_."

"Russell, please," Edward leaned back, letting his voice gain a little volume. "He's a little good looking, is all."

"Yeah, that's why you're completely in love with the dude."

"I'm _not_ in love with him! I just sort of—"

"MR. ELRIC, WOULD YOU PLEASE SIT DOWN?"

Edward blinked, and then realized he was standing, pointing straight down at Russell menacingly. "Oh," he blushed, "right."

"Edward," Envy said from behind him, "I know that you are so bent on convincing your boyfriend of whatever, but I am trying to learn."

"Shut the fuck up, you liar."

"Edward is _not_ my boyfriend."

"Thanks for the support, Russ."

"No problem."

Winry giggled.

"Whatever."

**—xx—**

**Edward leaned back in his chair at lunch, **waiting for his friends to appear. He poked at his lunch and wished he had packed something. He grabbed for an apple and took a bite of it as Russell took a seat next to him. "Ooh," he said wiggling his fingers, "How appetizing! I see that the Cafeteria has moved up from sewer to Dumpster. A good choice!" He pointed at something gray, "I wasn't aware that Play-doh was a food group. Man, I need to study more!"

"Russell, please shut up." He took a second bite from the fruit, spurting juice across his face. "At least," he said, mouth full of food, "That there's _something _edible on this plate. It's refreshing."

"Y'know, Ed, if you wouldn't stay up at night yelling and talking to yourself, you could get up and make a lunch like the rest of us." Winry sat down across from the two and dumped out the contents of her brown bag.

Sheska nodded and said, "I'm sure that food isn't good for you."

"I _know_ that the food is not good for me, people, but it seems that I do not have much of a choice. I was, um, working on some chemistry stuff last night and it was frustrating," Edward adlibbed.

"Really," Winry said, pointing her fork in Edward's general direction, "Because last night I could have swore I heard something about 'tennis.'"

"Ooh," Sheska commented, "Did you sneak Roy in last night?"

"God damnit, you guys are just looking to get me beat up!"

"So you _did _get him in last night!" Russell leaned in close, "how was he?"

Edward flailed his arms, "He _wasn't_ in my room!"

"That's what they all say," Russell leaned back, "want some of my sandwich? I know you're hungry."

Edward scooted into Russell, "You're awesome!" He snatched it from him, taking a huge bite from it. "Fankfs, Ruff," he said, spurted food everywhere.

"Eew! Ed!" Winry jumped backwards in her seat, "That is _gross!_"

Edward smiled, "Thank you!"

"Oh god," Russell pointed behind him, "lover boy's here."

Edward whipped around and sure enough, Roy Mustang walked by with three of his tennis buddies and a crowd of freshman girls, excluding Ales…right in front. He dazed for a bit before Russell hit him on the back of his head. "Don't stare too long, he might _notice_ you!"

"Loser!" Edward shouted, "He obviously notices me because I've talked to him all those times! He's not nice anyway."

"Then you two are a perfect match!" Winry said over excitedly. She threw her arms up in the air and said, "Horray!"

"Shut up, Winry," Edward grumbled, "Here," he threw the sandwich at Russell, "here's your stupid sandwich." He stood up and walked away from the table, "Bye guys."

He wandered down the hallway aimlessly, not really sure where he was going. He somehow ended up at his locker. He leaned against it and let out a sigh, talking quietly to himself after confirming the hallway was indeed empty. "Man, this is fucking ridiculous. I shouldn't have to wait." He folded his arm into his chest, "I mean, a lot of girls like me, I should just find one that I like, too. I shouldn't have to wait to lose my virginity to _him_." He slumped down and fell on the ground. "I just really love him that much, I guess."

He stopped and looked up, "Man, did I really just say that?" He looked down and sighed, "Is it true? I mean, it can't be right. Roy's just a crush, right?" He crossed his arms over his knees and laid down into them. "Mustang had to be the one, right? He just had to be the one I want, because he's so fucking out of reach." He looked up, thinking he heard steps in the background, but shrugged it off when he heard nothing else. "That pisses me off so much. I love Roy Mustang so fucking much." He laid his head back down in his arms and sighed.

Roy Mustang leaned his back against the men's bathroom wall, eyes wide. Had he _really_ just heard that? Edward Elric… really? He was… _in love with him_. He held his breath hoping that Edward would not hear him, but lucky him, he sneezed. He heard feet slam down and Edward jump up in the hallway. He grabbed his messenger bag and rummaged through it, finding what he was looking for. He pulled the baseball cap onto his head, successfully covering his hair. He did what seemed most logical, he ran from the bathroom in the direction of Cafeteria. Soon, he heard feet behind him.

"HEY YOU! YOU, MOTHER FUCKER! YOU COME BACK HERE! I AM NOT GONNA LET YOU TELL ANYONE!" Edward was running his fastest, trying his best to catch the boy he did not recognized. His hair was covered… but those clothes looked familiar. Edward picked up just a little more speed and got right behind him, tackling him and bringing him to the ground in the hallway. He heard a sickening crack as his head hit the floor. Edward turned him over to see who he had successfully stopped, and his eyes widened. Underneath Edward, lay Roy Mustang. He saw a large bruise form on his forehead and Edward felt a burning sensation behind his eyes. "No." He grabbed his collar and shook the boy, "No, no, no! Get up you bastard!" A tear rolled down his cheek as he continued to shake Roy.

"What have I done?" Edward whispered, "What have I done?"

**A/N: **_Sorry about the short chapter. Hope required that I finish the chapter tonight. **You will like the next chapter**. I guarantee it. I really don't have much to say. So I will just post._

_Thanks for being so awesome,_

_Ales_


	4. Every Fan Gets a Prize

**Disclaimer: If I made a list of things that have to do with this story that I do not own, it would be very long. Things I _do _own? Too bad. I'm not telling. Fullmetal Alchemist is not mine, beeotches.**

**Chapter Four – Every Fan Gets a Prize**

—**xx—**

**Edward panicked. **"Hey!" He shook Roy by his collar, trying to rouse him. He felt tears coming up and he fought them away the best he could. "Come on! Wake up you stupid bastard! Wake up!" He looked around the hallway, confirming that no one else was around. He grabbed the back of Roy's collar and pulled him towards a supply closet. "Gotta hide him, gotta wake him up." He grabbed for the handle and voila! It was unlocked. Turning it and throwing the door open, the pushed Roy into the closet and looked inside for a cup or bucket, grabbing the first one saw. "I'll be right back, I promise." He got off his knees and shut the door, dashing down the hall with the plastic cup in hand.

On the way back with the tiny amount of ice cold water from the fountain, he made sure no one was watching him. He opened the door to find Roy still knocked out, chest rising slowly up and down. He shut the door behind him and moved next to Roy. "Hey," he said softly, "come on, wake up." He lightly hit Roy's cheek, and he stirred, but remained out. Edward sighed, "Ok, I'm sorry I have to do this." He grabbed the cup of water and threw its contents onto the boy underneath him. When the ice water hit Roy's face, his eyelids flickered and he sleepily looked up.

"Huh?" He pulled up a hand to rub his eyes, "Edward? What's going on—what are you doing on top of me?"

Edward looked down and noticed he was straddling Roy. He jumped off of him and flushed bright red. "U-um, sorry."

"For what," Roy said, pushing himself on his elbows, "tackling me and knocking me out or attempting seduction? Or could it be for throwing me in this closet and drenching me in ice water?"

Edward scowled, "_Sor_ry. Next time I'll just leave you in the hallway!"

"Why don't you try not tackling me next time?" Roy said, half smiling. Edward let out a sigh of relief. Good, he wasn't mad or anything. "Damn, that hurts!" He raised a hand to the purple bruise and touched it lightly, flinching afterwards.

"Why the hell did you touch it? Of course it hurts!" Edward growled, "Here." He handed Roy a paper towel drenched with the same ice cold water. "That'll help, I guess."

"Thanks, but this would have all been avoided if you hadn't knocked me over."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Edward leaned against the supply closet wall and sighed. There was a long silence where eyes were avoided when met and Edward was shifting nervously before he finally blurted, "How much did you hear?"

Roy looked up. "What?"

"I know you were listening to what I was saying in the hallway before. That's why you ran off." He blushed a little, "How much did you hear?"

"Oh," Roy quieted a little, "Well, practically all of it."

"Oh." Edward flushed pink.

They were silent again, no sound heard but the light dripping from Roy's hair onto the tile floor. Edward stared down at the floor, silently cursing himself for getting himself into this predicament. Roy just kind of looked at the boy, noticing how pathetic he looked. He actually… felt sorry for him.

"Did you mean it?"

Edward looked up and stared. He was unsure about how to answer this question. He averted Roy's eyes and flushed even deeper. "Y-yeah," he whispered.

"Oh." Roy said softly, feeling an unnatural amount of remorse for him. This sort of situation had never happened to him before, and he had no idea what to say. He did not know how to comfort the boy or make him stop feeling embarrassed. He just remained silent.

"I'm sorry for putting you through this Roy." Edward said with a sigh. "I was really hoping no one would hear me, but it was stupid to talk like that in the hallway. I have no idea why I even did it."

Roy smiled, "Its okay, I guess."

The two were stuck in _another_ awkward silence until Roy decided to take charge. "Edward, you don't have to be sorry about anything, okay?"

"Huh?" Edward straightened himself out, "What are you talking about?"

"What you said, if it's true, you can't help it. It's just the way you feel." Roy inched closer to him. "I'm not going to chastise you because you admit your feelings to yourself, especially when they're so controversial."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Edward tried to scoot back but all the he could go into was the wall.

"Edward," Roy was closing in on the boy, "You don't know why the tennis team is so popular, do you?"

"N-n-n-n-no," Edward stuttered, completely frightened. "W-w-what are you d-d-doing?"

"Edward, it's popular because," he climbed on top of the boy, "every fan gets a prize, and that prize," he moved in closer to the boy, their noses almost touching, "is me."

The first thing Edward noticed was a very sweet taste; like candy. There was a mint taste, too. Then he noticed that this taste was caused by the pair of lips covering his. As much as his mind told him to push Roy away, he leaned back and himself be controlled. When a tongue pushed at Ed's lips, he opened his mouth and granted it permission. Edward fought to keep up with him, putting his arms around the senior. Roy pulled the boy on top of him and attacked his mouth. Edward, fighting his hormones, pulled off of Roy.

"Are you sure about this?" Edward panted, completely out of breath.

"Edward," Roy said, letting go of the boy, "you unintentionally confessed your love for me. This is the least I can do." He reached for the top of the door where there was a lock and clicked it. "There, privacy." He tackled Edward and started kissing him full on. He hands wandered down Ed's sides, sending pleasure chills up and down Edward's spine. Roy's hands found the bottom of Edward's shirt and touched his skin, sliding his hands along it. Edward flinched at Roy's cool hands, but welcomed them. As Roy's hands went further into Edward's shirt, they came upon the metal grafted on his skin. "Automail?" Roy mumbled into Edward's mouth. Edward nodded slightly and felt Roy pull away and lift off both shirts at once. Edward flushed, turning his whole body a shade of pink.

Roy stared down. "What the…?" He ran his hands along the sensitive skin that was lining the metal. "I've never seen automail on someone so young."

"I-I'm not t-that young," Edward scowled, "y-you b-bastard."

"I would have been surprised to find it on someone my age," Roy said, "How long has it been there?"

"That's none of your fucking business."

"Okay."

Edward looked up, "What?" He had really expected for Roy to pry.

"If you don't want to tell me, I'm not going to make you. It really is none of my business."

Edward blinked and opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Roy had pulled his lips to meet his to continue ravaging at his mouth. Edward fought to keep in any sign of pleasure and kept his own towards Roy. Roy pulled away and went for Edward's neck. Edward attempted to follow Roy's lips, but found this near impossible, so he simply lay his neck against the wall and let Roy have his way with his neck. Edward squeaked as Roy's teeth made contact with his skin. "W-what are you d-doing?"

Roy continued biting his neck softly and then pulled away. He smiled devilishly and began working on the rest of Edward's body. Ed felt his palms go numb and he gripped the ground as best as possible before zoning out and succumbing to the pleasure. He closed his eyes and let himself lose control. He didn't reopen them until he felt a faint tugging at his waistline. He looked down and saw Roy quickly fumbling with his belt. He choked up when he realized just what Roy was doing and managed to get out, "W-what… doing?"

Roy either did not hear Edward or was ignoring him. Either way, he did not respond, but finally got his belt unhooked. Edward bit his bottom lip to keep any words or miscellaneous noises inside as Roy entered very private areas. Edward squirmed uselessly, finding Roy's harsh treatment painfully satisfying. His hips bucked up as Roy continued further and Edward let out a high squeak. A chuckle came from Ed's hips and he blushed. How could he be so… _calm_ about this? Pinpricks of blood were drawn from his lips as he tried to keep himself from getting a little too aroused. He wasn't thinking about anything else, just the overwhelming amount of thoughts he had to try to suppress. The thoughts were winning.

Just when Edward thought he could take no more, Roy leveled his own lips with Ed's and kissed him hard. Edward never minded the taste; only glad to be free of the brutal thing that he was sure was sex. Roy pushed him down, losing the gentleness he had possessed before. Edward flattened slightly under his weight, but genuinely welcomed the kiss. Roy pulled him up and on top of him, relaxing slightly before closing his lips and ending the sloppy kiss. Edward pulled away from him and rested his head on Roy's chest, letting his breath out and heaving one after another.

Out of nowhere, Roy began laughing. First it was a chuckle, almost too soft to be heard, but in a few seconds, it was a full-out laugh. Puzzled, Edward looked up and promptly and understandably asked, "What the hell are you laughing about?"

Roy closed his lips and they curved upward. "Oh, nothing; I think it that I just realized that I just fucked a guy."

"Well, _sorry_," Edward pouted.

"No," Roy smiled, "It's okay. I don't regret it at all in any way."

Edward pushed off of his chest and stared at him. "What's with that?"

"What, do you want me to wish that I didn't just do you?"

"No," Edward crossed his arms, sitting on his knees. "You're… I dunno. I mean, look at you." Words began spilling from Edward's mouth uncontrollably, "You're beautiful. You're popular. You're a jock and you have everything. You've been nice to me, but also a bastard. I'm a little intimidated by you, and you aren't at all by me, like a lot of people are. Your smile is amazing, Roy. From the first moment I saw you, my heart was yours." A tear fell down his cheek and he didn't know why. "You smell good. You _taste_ good. What's _wrong with you?_ I tackle you and knock you out, and what do you do? _You make love to me_. Your excuse is that I confessed my love to you. Well that was just my stupid mistake. You take pity on me or whatever and you're so caring." Another tear found its way out of his eye and then another. Soon, they were pouring out and he couldn't stop them, not like he cared to try. "I love you so much. I don't even know how it came to this. You're perfect for me, but it's so fucking impossible."

"Edward," Roy said softly, half surprised at the sudden spill of heart. "It's not impossible. What are you talking about?"

"I can't be with you. No matter how much I want it, I can't. You're a senior, you're popular, and you're a guy. I'm a freshman, I'm a dork, and I'm a guy. You wouldn't want me anyway."

Roy bit his bottom lip. He didn't want to say anything he'd regret, be it good or bad. He simply gave the boy an overly sympathetic look.

"I just wonder why life has to do this to me. Girls wouldn't want to be with me even if I wanted them to if they knew about my automail. That's why I focused on my studies. But _you_ had to come along." Edward sniffled silently. "Why?" He screamed, throwing himself on top of the senior and sobbing into his chest.

"Shh, Ed," Roy whispered nervously, "We're still in the closet."

"I don't care," he said, but in a low whisper. Roy stared at the boy as he balled his shirt into his fists and sobbed silently. After a time, he reluctantly wrapped his arms around the boy and rubbed his back softly. He could feel Edward's short, harsh breaths soften and he quieted soon after.

"Edward," Roy murmured into his ear softly, searching for soothing, yet vague words. "You've gotten this far by doing what you think is right. Perhaps that's what you should do now."

Edward shifted in his comfortable position as a response, signaling for Roy to keep going, but he had no words to say, so he instead held him closer. Edward exhaled when Roy leaned farther to a more comfortable position.

—**xx—**

**Roy changed positions, his legs** falling asleep. Edward _was_ asleep and he let out a breath of air. He didn't know what it was about the blonde that made him so… interesting. Perhaps it was the fact that he spoke how he liked to him, or didn't act weird around him. He was a selfish bastard just like him. Maybe it was the way he carried himself, or the mysteriousness behind his automail. Though… it was possible that it was the way his features softened slightly and his hair seemed to shine in an angelic halo when he slept…

Roy blinked and shoved these thoughts away. Surely he wasn't… crushing on the little freshman. Was he? He let out a very nervous chuckle. Of course not. He just had sex with him, it was simply the after effects. He put a hand on the blonde and shook his shoulder a bit, rousing him. He blinked at him when he lifted his head and murmured, "Wha…?"

"Hey," Roy said, pushing himself up to wake his brain, "get up, class is gonna start soon."

Edward blinked again and then blushed bright red, pushing off of Roy and bouncing to the other side of closet noisily. "S-s-s-s-s-sorry!" He grabbed his shirts, "I d-didn't m-mean t-t-to fall asleep!"

"Ed, Ed, Ed!" Roy whispered loudly, "Quiet yourself, _please_. It's no big deal, okay?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Edward mumbled as he slipped the black long sleeve over his head. "I didn't get much sleep last night." He grabbed the polo.

"Ed," Roy grabbed his free hand, "its okay!"

Edward blinked and stared at him, his face deepening its red shade. "O-okay."

"Ok, here's what we're gonna do. If we both leave here at once, people will wonder what we were doing. I will leave first because people will definitely have assumed that I was in here anyway." He ignored Ed's look of disgust, "About five minutes after I leave, you can get up. What's your next class?"

Edward blinked, "Gym. Why?"

"Good," Roy grinned, "Slip in and shower if you need it and then go to the nurse. That'll get you out of Gym easy. Then go to the class after."

Edward blinked and titled his head. Was it possible that he would know this many tricks by his last year? "Okay."

Roy pushed off the ground and stood up as Edward finally pulled on the red shirt and began buckling his belt. He began to open the door as he heard Ed mumble, "Um, Roy?"

He turned from the door, "Hmm?"

"I k-know you don't wanna be a-attached to me, so we can still be f-friends, right?"

Roy blinked before saying warmly, "Yeah."

"Thanks."

Roy smiled and Edward's face turned red again. He turned from the blonde and left the closet, leaving the boy alone with only his thoughts.

—**xx—**

**About five minutes later** Edward peeked into the keyhole to see if anyone was lurking the hallways. He couldn't see anyone, so he cracked the door and looked around. No one seemed to be around so he slipped from the closet and dashed down to the locker rooms. After sneaking into the showers and back out, he slipped from the locker room and down to the nurse's office, just as Roy had told him. When he entered the office, the lady looked up at him and smiled. "Can I help you?"

"I feel sick," Edward said weakly, then feigning a cough, "can I rest for a while?"

She studied him and smiled, "Sure, son, the beds are back there. Just lay down for a while and I'm sure you'll start to feel better."

He walked slowly behind her, actually feeling a little sick from his escapade. He slipped under the sheets and closed his eyes, and in an instant, he was asleep.

—**xx—**

"**Russell, have you seen **Ed?" Winry poked Russell's shoulder in their Social Sciences class.

"Nah," Russell said, while trying to balance a pen and pencil on one finger. "He disappeared after lunch. Do you think we made him that mad?"

"No, I don't think so." Winry said, resting her head on her hands, "He has a short temper but he's not that weak willed. He gets over that kind of shit fast."

"Yeah, I guess—dammit!" The writing utensils fell from his finger and onto the ground, "This class is slowly killing me, I know it."

Envy chuckled behind them, "I saw him running down the hallway after some tall dude. I dun know who. Maybe it was his fuck buddy."

Winry chuckled, "He wishes. Like Roy would even give him the time of day _anyway_."

"No, Roy gives him the time of day, they talk a lot," Russell added, concentrating solely on the balancing of only one pen. "He just wouldn't _do_ him. That would _never _happen."

"Duh," Envy said, leaning back into his chair, "I know that. Edward couldn't get that boy even if he knocked him out and did it while he was unconscious."

The three laughed at their friend's expense, unknowing just how close they were from the truth."

—**xx—**

**Things To Remember  
It was worth it.**

—**xx—**

**A/N: **_Okay, so I worked hard to make this chapter longer than the last one. I was nervous doing this one, and ended up making it a lot less explicit than I had originally planned, just because I didn't want to type it. I'll keep the unrated version up here –points to head-_

_So yeah. I know. They had sex. Woo-hoo! Go Ed! _

_No_

_That's not the end of the story._

_Why would you say such a thing?_

_**Ales**_


	5. Space

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. If I stole it from Arakawa, how would we ever figure out the rest of the story! It's important that she finish, and then the fandom can go and take it from her. Unless, you know, she PLANS ON DOING A SECOND FULLMETAL.**

**That would make a lot of us happy. :D But… that will never happen, so everyone will have to be happy with the tons of Fics. GO FICS!**

**Chapter Five—Space**

—**xx—**

**Edward stumbled down the steps of the school, **somehow landing on his feet on the first floor safely. He picked up his speed, gripping the one strap on his bag tightly in his fist as he rounded the corner to the front steps, throwing his head out the door and seeing that everyone was gone. "God dammit," he mumbled, "They fucking left without me!" He sat down on the third step from the top, cursing each and every one of his friends that didn't bother to come wake him up so they wouldn't leave him here to walk home on his own. He let out a big sigh, not exactly looking forward to walking home all alone. It tends to be long and boring, but there wasn't another way to get home, and Granny Pinako would be pissed if he was late. He sat back on the steps, extending the time between when he would have to leave and the time when he could sit here.

Several minutes later, his mind drifted to earlier in the afternoon. Had he _really_ lost his virginity to Roy Mustang himself? I mean, what he did… that was sex? He shook his head, feeling a blush creep up on his cheeks as he thought about it. Well, Roy sure made a move on him… and what was with that whole, "I'm the prize" thing? Did that mean Roy had… sex with all his fans? No, Ed pointed out to himself, Ales had said in the hallway with her friend that he didn't have sex with the girls. So he just made out with them, then…

…and that meant that Ed had been special. _Special_. An exception to the rest. Ed blinked. So Roy didn't have sex with the fans, but he had with Edward… that meant Ed meant something more to Roy than just a fan.

No, he was thinking about this too much. Roy had said that he didn't want to be anything more than friends. He breathed out softly and looked at the sun that was inching lower and lower in the sky. He really _should_ get home… He would just sit for a couple more minutes and then he would go. Leaning back on the steps, he could hear the stomping of feet as a group of people headed his way from inside. He checked his watch on his flesh arm, bit his lip, and then stood up off the steps, preparing to leave...

...until he heard the voice of a very familiar Roy Mustang. He panicked, grabbing his books in a rush to shove them into his bag, but to no avail. Roy was already saying his goodbyes and out the door before Ed could make it off the last step.

"Ed!" Mustang sounded genuinely happy to see the boy, and quickened his pace to catch up with him. The blonde Elric bit his lip and moved his feet faster to keep a distance between the two. "'Ey, come on!" Roy grabbed his shoulder, effectively stopping him and meeting him with a bright smile.

"Uh, hey..." Ed blushed, avoiding his eyes, "What do you want?"

"Ever the rude Elric," Roy joked, "I hope you don't have any siblings, I'm sure they're as rude as you."

"What do you care if I have a brother?" Ed scoffed, taking his leave and attempting to get away from him once again.

"Ah, so you _do_ have siblings?" Roy smirked, "Where are you going?"

"Home, dumbass," Ed remarked, "I don't like being at school all day."

"Well," the raven haired boy said, following the freshman, "you certainly are here late. Might I inquire as to why?"

"No." Edward growled, hardly turning a glance in his direction.

"And why is that? I just wan—"

"Look!" Ed spun on his heels, stopping a hurrying Roy who almost bumped right into the blonde, "Why are you talking to me? Why are you following me? Just to _mock_ me? I told you I wanted to stay friends, but I need to stay away from you because…because…" his face was bright red and his hands clutched into tight fists at his sides, "well you know why!"

Roy stared, eyes wide.

"Don't have anything clever to say?" Ed seethed, face losing its red tint. "What a surprise!" He spun around and ran off in the other direction. Roy sighed inwardly, clutching his car keys in his pocket and heading for his car. He wasn't going to give up this easily.

Edward slowed his pace once he hit the sidewalk in front of the school. He walked silently, his heart pounding. He bit down on his lip, hoping that no one had over heard him yelling at Mustang. He heard a car slow behind him and he turned around. Probably before he noticed the driver of the car, he noticed the car itself. It was a sleek black convertible that Edward was almost sure that was imported. He pretty much guessed the driver before he looked up and saw Roy in the driver's seat.

"Edward, get in." Roy said firmly, coming to a halt along side the gaping blonde. "You're acting like a child, and if you're so bothered then we need to talk."

Edward's brow furrowed, "Why?"

"So you _won't_ be bothered, obviously," Roy rolled his eyes, "That makes the most sense, doesn't it?"

"No, you idiot, I mean why should I get in your car and ride with you when I can walk just fine?"

"Because I know that you don't want to walk alone."

Ed bit his lip, knowing that that was true. "I'd rather walk alone across the country than ride one minute in your car!"

"Come on, Ed," Roy groaned, "Humor me."

"No." He turned back in the direction of his house and walked. Roy growled softly and hit his head on the steering wheel.

"Fine," he mumbled between clenched teeth. He pushed on the pedal slightly, causing him to go ever so slowly along the walking Elric. He could see the boy twitch but he otherwise ignored him. For about a half of a block, he drove with the opposite window down in silence. When he finally came upon a stop sign he had lost it. "GOD DAMNIT EDWARD, GET IN THIS CAR! _NOW!_"

Edward jumped back at the sudden screaming, but then regained his stubbornness. "NO!"

"GET IN NOW!"

"NO! GO AWAY OR I'LL START PELTING THINGS AT YOU!"

"GO AHEAD AND DO IT YOU LITTLE FREAK!"

Edward dropped his pack, his face bright red and his eyes bulging from his head, "WHO. ARE. YOU. CALLING…" he took a deep breath before clamping his eyes shut and screaming at the top of his lungs, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO DAMN SHORT THAT HE WOULD THROW NUMEROUS THINGS AT AN EXPENSIVE CAR LIKE YOURS AND YOU WOULD NOT EVEN NOTICE BECAUSE I WAS SO SMALL THAT I COULDN'T LIFT ANYTHING YOU COULD EVEN SEE WITH A MICROSCOPE BECAUSE I'M SO UNSEEN AND I WOULD BE HIDDEN BY THE CRACK IN THE SIDEWALK SO YOU WOULDN'T EVEN NOTICE ME ANYHOW AND WE WOULDN'T BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION BECAUSE MY VOICE WOULD BE FAR TOO QUIET FOR YOU EVEN TO HEAR EVEN IF I WAS SHOUTING SO I DON'T KNOW HOW WE COULD EVEN BE ARGUING ABOUT THIS!"

Roy stared for a few seconds before understandably responding with, "…what?"

"You heard me you stupid bastard!" Ed said breathlessly, "Why are you doing this to me? Can't you just _leave me alone?_"

"No!" Roy argued, "Look, quit being stubborn and get in this car! I just want to _talk_ to you!"

"_Don't you get it?_" Ed seethed, "After what you did today, I can't be near you! I can't talk to you! At least not right now," he went back to grab his bag.

"Why, Edward?" Roy asked sympathetically, "I just want to know."

"Because…" Ed replied through clenched teeth, "because believe it or not, I still love you!" He turned to the senior, beet red. "Do you get it now? Just because we…I…you did what you did, doesn't mean that my feelings have changed at all! If _anything_ they've intensified, so why do you think you can just invite me for a carefree ride home? I know it won't work so will you just _leave_ me alone!"

Someone behind Roy beeped and he jumped. He grumbled and then gave Ed a caring look. "That's why I want to talk about it, Edward. You said you want to be friends and we just need to talk."

"I. Don't. Want. To. Talk. To. You." Ed repeated. "Okay?"

The person behind Roy beeped again and he swore before rolling down the window. "LOOK!" He screamed to the car behind him, "JUST GO AROUND ME! I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" He took a breath and then turned back to Edward. "Why are you being so stubborn?" He was quickly reaching his wit's end and was digging his teeth into his bottom lip to keep any angry thoughts in.

"I've already told you," Ed growled, "Now can I go home?"

"Only if you let me drive you. I don't have anywhere to go or anything to do tonight. I can follow you all night."

Ed seethed. "I'm not moving until you leave."

"I'm not leaving this spot until you get in this car unless it's to follow you."

"Well, it seems we have ourselves a problem."

"Indeed."

Roy continued staring into the determined golden eyes as lines of cars simply drove by him. In his mind, Ed was determined on staying there all night, but he knew that he needed to get home soon; otherwise Granny Pinako would kill him. But he simply would not give up and give in to Roy Mustang! Perhaps Roy was bluffing, and he had to get home for dinner with his family. Of course he did! He had to go home and be on time for dinner and some other family shit. Ed grinned unknowingly, but quickly suppressed it when he saw the confused look on his face.

But Roy stayed there and Ed knew that he _really_ needed to get home. First it was five minutes. Then ten. By the time fifteen minutes ticked by, Roy had pulled out a text book and began working Calculus problems silently with a very content smile on his face. Ed began itching nervously, switching the arm that held his bag more frequently as time went on. Slowly, the time where he would simply not be able to make it home by himself was approaching, but Roy was making no movement, not sign of defeat in his face. What if he really _didn't_ have anywhere to go? He certainly was making it seem that way…

"Ed," Roy said calmly from his book, "how long is this going to take, I'm afraid I'm illegally parked."

"Then why don't you leave?" Ed suggested both hopefully and ruefully, "I told you I'm not moving."

"You look real anxious though," Roy pointed out, "are you late for dinner or something, because I can easily take you home."

"Forget it!" Ed seethed, "Just go!"

"No." Roy said, and then looked down at his book.

Ed grumbled softly, noting the sun setting in the distance before biting his lip and silently admitting that there wad only one choice left, and that was that the only way to get home was go with Mustang. He grabbed his bag and threw open the door, sitting down in the passenger's seat in a huff.

"Ahh, I see you've finally given in," He said with a tiny smirk.

"Shut up and go." Ed shot, "I'm not talking to you except to give you directions. Take a right here."

Roy obediently stepped on the gas and took a turn, remaining silent for a few minutes. After Edward's second direction, he lifted his head to speak, "Now that I've got you in my car, will you answer a question?"

As promised, the blonde Elric remained silent.

"Hmm, really?" Roy said, "Fine, I'll talk at you."

Silence.

"Look, Elric, I'm sorry about what I did, but I'm not. I'm sorry I did it because now you _really_ hate me, but I'm not because… well I'm just not, let's leave it at that." He glanced over at the scowling blonde before continuing. "I don't know if you understand that or not, but I still can't see why you're so bothered by this. I would _like_ to understand, and that's why I need you to talk."

"But what if I don't want to talk," Ed mumbled near inaudibly.

"What's that?" Roy asked, knowing full well what Ed said, but wanting him to talk so he could finally get an answer out of him.

"Nothing," he said, staring intently out the window before saying, "Take a left."

Turning the wheel he said, "You shouldn't avoid the subject so much, Ed. You're going to have to face it soon enough, why not now?"

Silence.

"Come _on, _Edward." Roy said almost pathetically, "I'm trying hard enough, could you please just talk to me?"

"No." Ed responded curtly. "I don't want to talk to you, you stupid bastard. Take a right."

"I just want us to be friends again." Roy responded, "And you're being completely childish, nothing like the Edward I met."

"Well maybe I want to be childish," he finally responded, still staring out the window. "Maybe just because you put your hands all over me in that closet doesn't mean that I have to suddenly be an adult and do what's most responsible. Maybe I want to avoid the subject for a life time, but right now, I know that I want to avoid you until the end of time if that's what it's takes—take a right—because I can do it. I don't know right now, Mustang, I don't know _when_ I'll know. I love you now, and I'll love you for a while. There's nothing you or I can do about it, whether I want to or not." Ed let out a sigh, "Stop here."

Roy stopped the car in front of the Rockbells' home and stared at him for a long while. "What?" Ed asked.

"Oh, nothing." Roy looked away, expecting the boy to bolt from his car in an instant, but surprisingly, the car door neither opened nor slammed closed, so he looked back.

"Look, Roy," Ed said, shockingly with a soft smile on his face. "Since I saw you, I knew that I would fall for you, but I never knew this deep, and I never _dreamed_ that you would show _any_ interest in me. I love you, Roy Mustang, and that's why I need to keep away from you, so please," Ed sighed, "just stay away." He grabbed Roy's collar and laid a kiss on his cheek before opening the car door and darting to the front door.

Meanwhile, Roy sat shocked in the front seat of his car. He slowly lifted a hand to his cheek, hardly believing that Edward had just said that much to him, and then, to top it all off, he had _kissed _him.

Roy eventually drove off, off to his home in the center of the city. Opening the door to his condo and pressing his back against the front door, dropping the keys and slowing falling to the floor. His heart was racing so fast that he thought it might pop from his chest. His face so hot that it was nearly sweating. He could hardly believe it.

He was falling for Edward Elric. And fast.

**A/N:** _**YES. I FINISHED! **It took forever! But I finished. I hope you like the ending, and now that we're here, I can probably get to the 'good stuff.'_

_Please review if you have the time._

**Ales**

**xxbonusxx**

**A/N: I noticed in the last chapter that there was a particularly ironic-funny scene. Thought I'd tweak it… here ya go.**

…"Shh, Ed," Roy whispered nervously, "We're still in the closet."

"Well, Roy," Ed pointed out, "you just had sex with me, I think you're gonna have to come out soon."

"Hah hah." Roy groaned. **…**

**Heh.**

**: D**


	6. Thinking Over

**Disclaimer: I'm writing an AU fic. Do you _really _think I own Fullmetal Alchemist?**

**WARNING: LEMON ALERT. The rating of this story was changed from T to M. If you aren't interested in a lemon, skip the italics. Please continue to read.**

**Or don't.**

**It's your choice**

**Chapter Six – Thinking Over**

—**xx—**

**Edward shut the door and leaned up against it**, slumping down to the floor. He immediately let out a breath of air he was so carefully holding in from when he had left Roy's car to the walk up to this very spot. He was amazed at how he had kept his composure through the ride home, that talk and especially when he had kissed the boy. Fortunately, he faltered the minute he was out of the car and far from Roy's view. He took a deep breath and relaxed. Things would be easier now, not that he had exactly had a chance for them to be complicated. He had gotten out what he wanted to say. Now, he could successfully go back to his life of studying and not worrying about dating. From then on, he wouldn't need to worry about Roy Mustang.

But of course, he'd have to avoid him at all costs. He now had something that he couldn't turn away from, memories. Before, he could be around Roy casually, as friends, but after today and what happened in that closet, he would not be able to be around him, because from now on, every time he would look at him, he would feel the warmth of his arms around him; because from now on, every time he saw him speak, he would imagine that open mouth on his; because from now on, when he even saw his hands, he would imagine them stroking sensitive skin. No, he could not be around Roy Mustang anymore, and right now, he pretty much wanted that way.

Because if Roy did not want a romantic relationship with him, Edward could not be around him and control himself any longer.

He began to stand up and was hit with two flying objects: a wooden spoon and a steel wrench, successfully slamming his head up against the door behind him. Winry and Granny Pinako appeared, both looking exceedingly displeased.

"Where _were_ you?" Winry screamed, initiating the argument before her grandmother could.

"Here's a better question," Ed dared, rubbing the two large bumps forming on his forehead. "Where the hell were you? No one bothers to wait for me! I had to come home alone!"

"Don't lie, Ed," Pinako cut in, "I saw the car that brought you here from the window. You got a ride."

Edward's cheeks flared, "Yeah, I had to ask halfway home! But that's beside the point, why didn't you and Russell wake me up!"

"We didn't know where you went! You disappeared after lunch, remember?" Winry growled.

"I got home, didn't I?" Ed snapped, "I took a nap because I was feeling sleepy and by the time I woke up, everyone was gone, so I had to walk partway and then someone gave me a ride. There. End of story."

The two Rockbell women sighed simultaneously, "I suppose."

Ed sighed as they left the foyer, going in two different directions.

And for a moment, he could have sworn that he heard a car restart in front of his house and drive off in the distance, but by the time he had turned to look out the window, it was gone. He shoved it off as a figment of his imagination.

—**xx—**

"**And speaking of figments of my imagination," **Edward called rather loudly as he entered his room, "We need to have a talk, you fake."

But no such figure appeared. Edward dropped his bag on the bed with a thump and called again, "Um, Roy?" He walked to the closet and opened it, half expecting the imaginary teen to come jumping out, but all that hid in the closet were mass amounts of clothes and shoes thrown carelessly about. "Where is he?" He questioned aloud. He took a look in other various places, including under the bed, the bathroom, and under his desk, but Figment Roy was not found anywhere. Edward collapsed on his bed.

"Maybe this is good," Ed sighed almost disappointedly, "Maybe my mind is trying to tell me something, like that I need to give up on him for real. No sense in me having a fake Roy around here to remind me of that bastard." He stared at his ceiling apathetically for several minutes, running the day's events through his mind time and time again. Each time, he felt his heart ache more and more, missing that genuine smile on Roy's lips. Finally, feeling as though he was depressed enough, he pushed himself up from the bed and towards his computer, feeling the sudden urge to spill himself to one of the few people he trusted, Russell Tringham.

He poked the monitor button, the computer having been left on all day, and logged on to his instant message account, and sure enough, Russell's screen name was under his online section. Before he could click the name, the screen popped up.

**botoniamania:** Hey, ed, where did you go after lunch?

**notashrimp: **heh… I was just going to IM you about that…

**botoniamania: **…and?

**notashrimp: **you'll never guess…

**botoniamania: **so why don't you tell me?

**notashrimp: **well, it definitely involves Roy Mustang…

**botoniamania: **you did NOT skip all those classes just to walk around with him

**botoniamania: **did you?

Edward chuckled at the screen

**notashrimp: **heh, no… well, it's a long story but I found myself alone in a closet with him

**notashrimp: **and then we… well we

**botoniamania: **o.o

**botoniamania: **he kissed you?

**botoniamania: **aw, ed, you're such a cute little gay kid!

**notashrimp: **we did more than—HEY. I'm NOT gay!

**botoniamania: **wait...what? MORE? Details!

**notashrimp:** well… long story short… I'm not a virgin anymore

**botoniamania: **...

**botoniamania:** …

**botoniamania: **…you're kidding.

**notashrimp: **no joke…

**botoniamania: **damn. DAMN. HOLY SHIT.

**botoniamania: **damn.

**notashrimp: **yeah… those are exactly MY feelings…

**botoniamania: **so what now, are you guys like boyfriends or something…

**notashrimp: **no…

**notashrimp: **he isn't actually interested in me romantically

**notashrimp:** so this whole thing happened after school and we had this argument

**notashrimp:** he doesn't want me so I told him that I don't want to be around him

**botoniamania: **woah.

**botoniamania: **ed, I'm sorry.

**notashrimp:** man… it'll be fine… like before.

**notashrimp:** I just can't be around him if he's not interested in me like that.

**notashrimp:** not now especially.

"EDWARD!" Winry called from the lower level of the house. "DINNER!"

**notashrimp: **I gotta go russ.

**notashrimp: **seeya tomorrow.

**botoniamania: **yeah. get there early, I wanna talk to you.

**notashrimp: **bye

**botoniamania: **bye

**notashrimp has signed off.**

Edward signed inwardly and shut off the internet and clicked off the monitor. He opened the door and made his way downstairs. Alphonse met him halfway down the hallway and smiled. "Hey, brother, where were you after school? I didn't see you on the way home!"

Ed shrugged, "I went to the nurse's office after lunch and fell asleep. No one woke me up so when I did, I had to walk part of the way home. That bastard Mustang gave me a ride the rest of the way."

Al raised an eyebrow. "That bastard, eh? Something happen?"

Ed growled between his teeth, "I'll tell you after dinner. If Winry finds out, she will _never_ let it go."

—**xx—**

**Alphonse stared at his brother, wide eyed.** For a few minutes, there was silence. Al opened his mouth a few times to attempt speech, but decided against it and closed his mouth again. Finally, he emitted words.

"Ed… so you really…?"

His brother nodded.

"And with… him…?"

"Yeah."

"So… now you're not going to talk to him anymore?" Al said, puzzled by Ed's choice of action.

"Yeah…" Ed trailed off, looking in the opposite direction. "You don't understand, Al. After what he…I…we…did…" he couldn't bring himself to say the word 'sex,' "I can't look at him anymore without remembering. I want to be with him, I do… but he doesn't want to be with me, and I _don't don't don't_ want to be his… his… his boy toy…" Ed spat.

Al bit his lip tentatively for a moment, before speaking again. "You're right, Ed, I don't know. I don't know how you feel about him, and I've actually never met the guy, all I've know is what I've heard from you—which is actually quite a lot, now that I think about it—so I can't help you like I'd like to, but," Al said, trying to sound as encouraging as possible. "But I do know that you gave up something… _important _and now you its hit home that it doesn't _mean_ anything." He was being as careful as he could to choose words that wouldn't hurt his brother, but he could tell by the look on his face that it wasn't going over as well as he'd like. "But, what I really don't get is why you want to push away from him. I mean, why are you_ giving up?_ Honestly, that's not the Ed I know. The Ed I know would be a persistent bastard and push his way into this boy's life. I don't know if the sex made you timid or something, but I definitely don't like it."

Ed gaped at his brother. "How the hell are you so mature for a thirteen year old?"

Al smiled, "One of us has to be."

"Shut up."

"But, Ed," Alphonse continued, "if you really, truly, love this boy, then I think you should give it your all. If he's really that important to you, I bet you can convince him the same of yourself."

"I don't know, Al." Ed sighed, "it seems like before I was so sure, and now I don't know up from down. All I know as that for now, I want to stay away from him. It's important to me. Maybe in the future, I will approach him again. I know he wants to be friends with me, but until I know that it could even possibly be anything more, I want to stay away from him."

Al nodded and put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I'm just glad I could help."

"Thanks, Al," he said, leaning in to bump his forehead against the younger Elric. "I know I can talk to you because you always tell everything to me straight."

Al chuckled, "Yeah, because you _need_ something straight in your life."

Ed growled loudly, gripping a pillow in his hand and chucking it at his brother. "GET OUT."

His brother smiled and tossed the pillow back, "G'night, brother."

Ed held the pillow to his chest as his brother opened the door, "'Night, Al."

The door shut behind his brother and, once again, Ed fell onto his back on the bed. The ceiling, looking important, was his main interest, but, remembering that he _did_ have homework in the classes he actually attended, he pulled himself up, reaching for his bag that had fallen off his bed sometime between the time when he had dropped it when he got home and after dinner. When he pulled back up, he was met with two smirking ebony eyes. Startled, the boy jerked backwards, falling on to the floor.

"So surprised to see me, Ed?" The figment bent over, lending a hand to help him up, but Ed shook his head at it.

"What good will that do?" He stood up on his own, regaining his composure, "It's not like you can help me up, you aren't real!"

"Well, I think we both know that," the boy smirked, sitting down on the bed. "But what's all this bullshit about you being unsure? Were you not ready for what my counterpart did today?"

"Shut up, you fake bastard! I don't want _or_ need you here, so why don't you fuck off?"

"Temper, temper," figment Roy said coolly, "there's no need to shout, I'm right here."

"Go away." Ed seethed, "I don't want to see the _real_ Roy, what the hell makes you think I want to see you?"

"Bullshit. You _know_ you want to see Roy Mustang again, otherwise, I wouldn't be here,"

Ed bit his lip; he knew that that was right. His mind was telling him that he wanted to see Roy… it was simply in his form. "Yes, I know that I actually want to see him," Ed replied, "but I only want to see him if he had romantic interest in me, which he doesn't."

"How can you be so sure?" Roy smirked.

"Because," Edward responded rather quickly, "I gave him all sorts of chances to say something. All he said was that he wanted to be friends. Nothing more."

"That's what he says," Figment Roy said, "But perhaps he doesn't know, perhaps he doesn't want to say. Have you given it any thought as to _why_ he fucked you?"

"He just felt sorry for me."

Roy raised an eyebrow, "Pity sex? I hardly believe that."

"Believe it," Edward said, shooing off the figment again, "I could see it in his eyes. Now_ go._ I don't want to see you right now."

The figment smiled and shrugged his shoulders, "Alright, Ed, whatever it is you want. I just think you're being a chicken shit. You like him? Go after him."

Ed turned back to say something, but he was gone, and he was alone, in bitter silence.

And this time, he was sure he liked it that way, for now.

—**xx—**

**Edward lay in bed, staring at the ceiling**, Figment Roy's words swimming in his head. He was right… he was completely and totally right. He couldn't help but think how wrong he was. Ed knew that he wanted to stay away, but he also knew that he wanted to tackle him and make him pant and moan and scream his name.

"I love him." He whispered to himself. "I love him."

It hurt to say, because he knew that Figment was right.

—**xx—**

_**His hands gripped the boy's **waist, staring down into his golden eyes. They amber globes pleaded for him as Ed's arms snaked their way around Roy's shoulders. "I love you," Edward mouthed, as if words would break the precious moment. He finally captured Ed's lips in his own, melding together as he pushed the boy down on the bed and climbing on top of him. The smile of his face took Roy's breath away as he made no haste and pulled off his shirt, straddling his thin hips. Edward lifted his arms to assist him. Roy scanned his toned chest, skimming his fingers across the skin welded to the automail. The boy squirmed immediately at the touch of the extremely sensitive skin. He let out a low moan and pulled Roy down onto him to kiss him hard on the lips. His hands wandering, he thanked whatever god it was that was giving him this time with the blonde before bring his hands up to run them through blonde bangs and back to his braid, pulling out the hair tie with a swift yank. He raked his fingers against the scalp and unraveled his hair, and then pulled away from his lips, much to the boy's dismay, to leave a trail of kisses as he headed for the boy's neck._

_Ed violently pulled away when Roy bit down on a particularly sensitive muscle, but went nowhere but further into the mattress, which managed to bounce him right back into Roy's nibbling jaw. Roy smirked into Edward's neck as he pinned the blonde to the bed and began to move lower on him, kissing Ed's chest and heading for his favorite spot on his body, the right shoulder, where the automail was grafted on the skin. Something about hot, sensitive skin and ice cold automail under his lips at the same time, Ed shivering and moaning from the touch, and the metal taste were all so appealing to him. He felt the blonde's skin shiver under his lips and smiled pulling up to see two half lidded eyes and a tired smile that pleaded him to keep going._

_So he did._

_He sped up down Ed's torso and settled on his abdomen as he fumbled with his jeans, reminding himself to thank Ed later for not wearing a belt. He yanked the pants down as far as he could at the awkward angle and then smirked, deciding not to take down the boxers just yet. In his pause, Ed lifted his head and said dazedly, "Hurry… Roy…" he breathed in heavily, fingers gathering sheets in his strained grip. Roy returned to Ed's lips, kissing him hard and registering his shocked look with a smile as his hands remained low. His fingers moved, teasing Edward gently, tasting the frustrated moans that Ed was releasing into his mouth. The blonde growled into his lips between strained moans, eventually using the most strength he possessed to push Roy off of him and breathe, "Don't…tease me…" he took a deep breath, "…don't."_

_Roy gazed into his eyes for a minute before shrugging and silently agreeing, yanking the shorts down with one hand and lowering back down. Ed tensed up a little, but Roy kissed his stomach and calmed him considerably before he bucked up again as Roy's lips encased the length and slid up it once easily. Then, deciding he hadn't done a good enough job, he dragged his teeth against the blonde's erection just one more time before lifting up and smiling at his dazed eyes and his nodding head. His head that was nodding in approval._

_So he turned him over gently._

_Roy's heart beat in nervousness, speeding up with every passing minute, second, moment, as he sat up on his knees and unzipped his own jeans. Tearing down his boxers along with the blue jeans, he gulped silently as to not alarm Ed anymore than he was already, and leaned dow slowly…._

…_slowly…_

…_oh…so…slowly…_

_Ed lifted his head up and breathed, "It's okay, I love you, Roy."_

_The raven-haired teen stopped short. He opened his mouth to say those three words back, but nothing would fall from his wet, bruised lips._

"_Roy?" Ed questioned, pushing himself up from the bed, "Roy, are you okay?" Roy blinked and looked down at the boy. His voice sounded far away, echo-y._

"_Roy?" Edward repeated, "Roy!" _

_He looked at him in agreement._

"_Wake up."_

—**xx—**

**Roy shot up in bed, a cold sweat dripping from his forehead. **He looked around the room, letting out a depressed breath of air and bringing a hand to wipe some sweat from his brow and then resting his head in his palm. He began to throw the covers from the bed, but stopped himself short at the thought of the…_sort_ of dream he had just had.

He could a wait a few minutes.

Four times. Four mother fucking, goddamned times tonight he had had that dream. Every wet dream scenario with Edward Elric possible seemed to be in line to pop up in a dream. There was the first one, barely wet dream material… them on a park bench making out and—he shivered—touching each other. Then there was the second… oh god… they were at a public pool and Edward grabbed him underwater. The third… the third could have been the worst of all of them… it was back in the closet, Edward down on him… oh god…

This was not helping his getting out of bed issue.

He sighed again and glanced over at his alarm clock. Four A.M. He was _not_ going back to bed… no _way_.

It had been three days. Three strange days. Three Edward-less days since he had dropped him off at home. He had not talked with Edward and it _bothered_ him. It shouldn't. It shouldn't bother him at all. Perhaps he had become so accustomed to seeing him all the time that now that he was being avoided that it was just weird for him. Possibly it was because he had never been avoided by someone (in fact, he was usually stocked by people).

Or maybe, just maybe, he really was falling for the little freshman.

Roy shook his head. "Of course not," he mumbled. _It's only lust_.

Deciding that he was good enough to get up and shower, he left the bed.

—**xx—**

**He certainly didn't feel much cleaner after the shower.** He yawned loudly and walked into his kitchen silently, flipping on the coffee machine and pouring grounds in. He sat on the couch a few feet away in the foyer and sunk deep into the lush cushions. It was times like these that he really missed his family. Really and truly. Of course, living alone had its advantages. He had no curfew but the city's. He could stay up late and sleep in late on weekends. He could have parties and listen to loud music.

But then there were these times. He'd wake up early in the morning with a problem and have no one to talk to. He thought of calling his sister and calculated the time difference on his fingers. "No," he mumbled, "it's too early. She'd kill me."

But he _really_ wanted to talk to her. She had always been so good with things like these and really, he never had to worry about her judging him. He smiled at the thought of the sort of comment if he called this early in the morning. He sighed and dazed, but snapped awake when the coffee machine beeped to tell him that the caffeinated beverage was ready and waiting. Stumbling across the floor, he made his way over to the machine. He poured a cup and then went back to the couch, sipping the hot drink and then setting it down. He grabbed a framed photo off of the coffee table and looked at it. There were three happy, grinning children, each with a shock of black hair; two parents, giving each a small smile, one with that same black hair, the other with brown. He smiled and sighed, remembering the day this picture was taken three years ago. But that was back home.

He was an ocean away from them, and it hurt.

He stared down at the picture before reluctantly placing it back and grabbing his coffee again. "What's happened to me?" He asked pathetically, staring at the ceiling as the mug warmed his palms. "I'm addicted to a freshman boy!" He lowered his head and gulped the coffee, nearly choking as the strong, black caffeine slid down his throat. He put the empty mug back and stood up, walking to the window. _I have a pretty good deal here, a pretty good life,_ he thought, _I mean, look at this view. It's amazing._

It was true. He had a flat in the middle of the city on a second story, overlooking L.A. towards the coastline, the waves crashing and sparkling in the evening before the city lit itself up and made its own light show. _And look at this place_, he marveled, _it's fucking huge, and free of charge at that! I have a bedroom, a library, a study, a kitchen, a living room, two plasma screen TVs… all taken care of by mom and dad! And the place can't be cheap; it's right around at least six clubs!_ He sighed, _it's so much better here, considering what I went through. Though, even with all this, all my popularity, and the great school, I miss everyone. I miss mom and dad, Kayla and Evan, and even _himHe sighed and leaned up against his view, the sky lightening. _Life was so much easier before all that happened_… s_o much easier. I can't go back there now, not after what went down. _

He fished in his pocket for his phone, flipping it open and scanning through the pictures. Sure enough, there was one in there of the person he was looking for. Blonde hair spilled over his shoulders and he had a look in his golden eyes that could only be read as, "I'm going to _kill _you." He had been oh so lucky to grab this picture of Ed when his hair tie had snapped in class and he had been forced to run to his locker to grab another, running into a camera-phone wielding Roy, who snapped the picture against Edward will. His smile faded as he realized what he was doing. He was staring at Edward like he was eye candy. He snapped the phone shut, seeing a flash of the blonde hair before it disappeared into black and the phone fell from his hands. _What's _wrong_ with me? He's just a little freshie! He's a _kid!_ I have so many girls I can go after and I'm staring at _him!_ Maybe this is some sort of…some sort of an after effect from the sex, some sort of punishment for taking his innocence and his virginity. Maybe that's what the dreams are all about; or maybe… maybe this has to do with _him_. He had always brought out the worst in me…_

Roy blinked, bringing himself back to reality. He moved here to get away from all that, and he wasn't going to guilt himself about it right now at the crack of dawn. Edward had done something to him, maybe it was his words. He _had_ confessed his love to him that day, and then repeated it later. And that kiss… that was so simple it was seducing. Edward must have planned all this! He must have known that he was seducing the male! Hell, it _is_ Edward, he'd do anything to fuck with Roy! He wouldn't give in to this; he was Roy Mustang, after all! He was Roy Mustang ladies man of BHS! He smiled, thinking, _I just need to get with a girl. Being with him messed with my mind, if I go out with one of my fans tonight, I'll feel better I'm sure._ He bent over to get his phone and flipped it open. There were three names in there that he could choose from, his main girls, and then there was Ales.

He shuddered, what was _she_ doing in there? He wanted to stay as far away from her as possible! He thought and then remembered. He and Ales had been hanging out and she grabbed his phone, screaming, "OH WOW! YOU HAVE THE NEW TEXTING PHONE! LEMME SEE!" and then proceeded to mess with his phone while he just sat in silence. She must have entered her number into the cell. He couldn't imagine choosing her for anything. Everyone knew they'd have to be crazy to go out with her.

Crazy.

Or devoted.

And Ales was especially… energetic. Just the sort of thing he needed to turn him back on to girls.He smiled to himself.

"Ales it is."

**A/N: **First lemon! FIRST LEMON! I was so neerrvous when I wrote it! I hope it's good, because I'm so nervous. I had to read Kara's car scene and Lina (BlackMercifulFaerie)'s chapter of Family, _Redhanded_. Thanks for the reading… : D

So, I hope you like it.

I hope I can remember the plot I came up with… I was stupid and didn't write it down and now I have to try to remember. I know next time I'll write it down fo' sho.

So… I hope I have good luck with that…

Not to discourage you all…

Thanks for reading, please review, flame, anything.

**Ales **


	7. Lust

**Disclaimer: It pleases the court to know that Maria Ales Carvell does _not_ own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

**Chapter Six—Lust**

—**xx—**

"**It's been two weeks, and I haven't heard anything about loverboy," Envy leaned **over Edward's shoulder and whispered harshly in his ear, "did you guys break up?"

Edward clenched his teeth and seethed to Russell, "Why the _hell_ did you tell him?"

"I didn't!" Russell responded, putting two hands up in defense, "I swear, it was Winry who told him!"

"And who told Winry, hm?" Edward growled before leaning forward even farther to escape from Envy.

"It actually _has_ been a while, Ed," Russell commented in class, "Are you really going to keep up with this?"

"Yes," Ed said flatly, "especially after what I've been hearing lately. Someone told me he actually has a girlfriend."

Wide eyed, Russell asked incredulously, "For real?"

"What a bastard," Envy said dryly behind him, "you picked a good one, shrimp."

"Yeah," Edward breathed, ignoring the boy behind him, "I don't know who it is because I haven't seen him in a while, but that's what people are saying."

"That sucks," Russell replied, "he really came off as a nice guy from what I've seen, but I guess you really can't judge a book by its cover."

"I know what you mean…" he trailed off as he stared out the window.

"Are you okay, Ed?" Russell tugged on his friend's shoulder, bringing him back to reality.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He smiled, "I'm thirsty." His hand shot in the air and soon he was on his way out of the classroom

In all actuality, he really wasn't that thirsty. He really wanted to get from the classroom and, deep down, he wanted to find Mustang. He wanted to smack him in the face and asked him who the hell he was trying to prove. He wanted to smack some fucking sense into him. Instead, he headed for a soda machine; a drink would soothe his angry nerves.

He heard giggling from a few feet away and let a small smile curve his lips as he remembered two weeks ago. But, when he realized what he was doing, he shook his head and fished in his pocket for a dollar. "The stupid bastard," he mumbled, "why am I even thinking about it?"

The giggles came again, constantly being shushed by their partner. What nerve, making out in the middle of the hallway! He sighed, "Maybe coming out here wasn't such a good idea." He bent over and grabbed his drink and popped it open, chugging half of it."

"Shh," the second voiced shushed again, "quiet down a little, you don't want to get caught."

The can slipped from his hands, he _knew_ that voice. He slipped around the corner and sure enough, Roy had some girl pushed up against a locker, his lips locked with hers and his hands pulling her as close as physically possible. He remained silent for a while, almost not surprised at what Roy was doing, but also to keep him from noticing him.

But then he saw the girl's face.

Ales.

**Ales.**

_Ales?_

Before he could control himself he had flung the closest thing near him, the can that had fallen on the ground, and screamed, "YOU ARE SUCH AN ASSHOLE! I _hate_ you, you bastard!" And turned around, dashing down the hallway.

Ales looked dazed, "Who the hell was that?"

Roy stared off at him, his heart pounding in his chest. He had to fight down the urge to run after him, and instead struggled out, "no one," and went back to the girl in his arms.

Ales? He was with _Ales?_ His girlfriend was _Ales?_ That _couldn't_ be right, he _hated_ her! Roy had _told_ him that he couldn't stand her, and yet, there he was, locking lips with her in the hallway. He could feel his heart ripping. Did this mean that… that what they did was no big deal? That he was just another floozy? His heart pounded in his chest as he finally stopped running and flung himself up against a wall. Falling to the floor, he could feel tears trying to come up through his eyes, but he blinked them away and brought his knees up to his chest. _I hate him, _Edward thought bitterly, _I hate him, I hate him, I hate him! _Edward felt himself losing control. He opened his mouth to say the words, trying to convince himself that it was true, but nothing could come out. All he could say was, "I love him."

He buried his head in his hands, but refused to cry.

—**xx—**

"**That took a while," **Russell commented when Ed finally sat back down next to him, "Where did you go…?" He looked at Edward's face and, for a second, lost his train of thought. "Ed… are you okay?"

The blonde shook his head, bouncing his braid as he woke himself from his daze to look at his friend. "Yeah," he rubbed his red-rimmed eyes, removing the glazed look if only a bit. "I'm fine."

Russell raised an eyebrow, "Really? Sure doesn't sound like it."

"I-I'm fine, Russ."

The taller of the two frowned in disapproval, "Well, I can definitely tell that's a lie, but I'll ask you about it later, since you're set on denying it now." He looked away from him and back up to the board, and for a while there was silence.

"…I saw his girlfriend with him… and… I know who it is," Edward mumbled towards the table, "…he told me he hated her before…"

Russell had turned to him by now and had a sympathetic look on his face. "Ed, I'm sorry."

"Whatever. I'm fine." He slouched in his chair and looked around the room.

Someone smiled at him.

Someone he didn't know.

Someone with amazing blue eyes and blonde hair from the back of the room.

He rubbed his eyes and the boy cocked his head, the warm smile only fading but a bit. Why didn't he know this boy? He turned back to Russell.

"Hey Russ, who's that kid in the back? I've never seen him before."

Russell turned to him and said, "Oh, while you were gone, he came in. He's a new student, transferred from Europe."

Ed blinked. _Europe?_ "Really? That's… interesting…."

He turned back around to finally return the smile back to him. This kid was interesting, that was for sure. _Very _interesting.

Before he could think about it anymore, the bell interrupted his thoughts, and in an instant, a crowd of people blocked his view and he was forced to stand up and leave behind the boy in the back of the room. "So," Russell said, "What are you doing after school? I was thinking you could come over for dinner. My mom's been dying to see you again since school started."

Edward shrugged, obviously indifferent to the suggestion. "Sounds cool, I could take a look at your stupid plant, and decide if it's really worth all the trouble."

His friend groaned and slouched over, "Don't remind me of that thing…" he shuddered. "Hey, I'll be right back, I need my book. Save my seat, okay? I don't want to be stuck next to Envy…" and he then he disappeared into the vast crowd of people.

Edward made his way down the hall and into his next class, still trying desperately to force the images of Roy and Ales from his mind. It was just _not_ good. He sat down in his seat and, as promised, set his bag in the one next to him. "Just one more period till lunch," he breathed, "…one…more…"

He looked around the room to find the clock and then, he saw him again. There he was again, smiling just as big, and he couldn't help himself. He jerked his head backwards in a gesture that read, "Come over here." He mouthed the words, just in case, and he seemed to understand as he stood up from his seat and walked over.

"Oh, hi." Ed bit his lip, he had a slight English accent and it was killing him.

"Wanna sit here?" Edward suggested, gesturing towards the seat.

The boy tilted his head, "Isn't your friend going to sit there? Or is he not in this class?"

Edward smiled and shrugged, "Oh, he won't mind." He removed the book bag, and sure enough, the boy shrugged and took what was no longer Russell's seat. "So, you're new, huh? What's your name?"

"Ah, I'm Alfons Heiderich, moved here last week from London. You?"

"I'm Edward Elric, born and raised here in L.A. So boring."

"Nah," Alfons smiled, "It'd be nice to have one hometown, instead of ten. I was born in New York and I lived there for a few years. Then my dad took me in because my mom got sick and I moved with him to Germany since he's in the military and lived there until I was seven. Then we were traveling all over Europe until we settled in London three years ago. He asked me if I wanted to stop going to school again to travel with a tutor, and this time I turned him down to move in with my sister here in the city." He laughed a few times after, "I'm sorry; I must be boring you with my life story."

"Not at all," Ed smiled, "your story is crazy, I love it." At that moment, Russell walked in the door with his book in hand and stopped right at his desk.

"Um, Ed…?" He looked over at Alfons, then back at Ed, who was looking at the taller blonde with pleading eyes. His mouth dropped into a smile, "I'll just sit with Envy today." He scowled and dropped his books next to the grinning green-haired teen. "Oh, joy," he breathed.

"So, you said your name was Alfons?" Ed said, leaning back into the conversation. "I have a younger brother named Alphonse. You look like him, just a little." He smiled. "He doesn't have blonde hair, though, and certainly not eyes as blue as yours." _Oh, god, what am I doing! Am I… hitting on him…?_ Edward bit his lip, but then another voice butted into his mind. _Well, he _is _pretty good looking_.

Ed shook his subconscious. Alfons seemed to not notice and smiled. "Ah, I'm nothing special. Your eyes are quite amazing; I've never seen that color in anyone's eyes before." He looked in them, and Ed felt a bit of triumph in his chest—nothing like the flutter in his chest he felt when Roy's obsidian eyes dug deep into his golden orbs. No, this was a feeling of pure, unadulterated lust, not love, like he felt for the older senior.

So a blush didn't creep across his cheeks when he took the compliment, replying, "Thanks." Instead, he felt the taste of revenge and a _want_ for Alfons, and, now he knew, he was going to do anything to be with him…_fast_. "How old are you?"

"Nearly fifteen. I was held back a year in school, otherwise I'd be younger."

Edward's smirk deepened as he leaned in closer, hardly noticing the bell ringing in some other part of the world. "So, you have a girlfriend? I'm sure the girls are _all_ over you."

"Nah, never been too interested in girls…" he gave a suggestive smile, "…if you know what I mean. What about you? I saw you with that pretty blonde."

Edward blinked and then let out a low chuckle, "…Winry?" He raised his eyebrows to amazing heights, "Yeah… right…"

"So, I'll take that as a 'you're single.'" He smiled, "That's too bad."

"It could be," _God! I'm really reaching for this!_ "Not in _this_ case."

A nervous chuckle escaped from his lips, and then a cough. He covered his mouth. "Excuse me."

"You okay?" Edward tilted his head to the side in a sort of 'I'm worried' gesture.

"Yeah," he coughed once more before removing his hand, "It happens all the time. Just a slight defect, doctors have told me it's nothing."

"Well," Ed turned his head the right way, "That's good."

"So…" Alfons said, bringing the conversation back up, "What lunch do you have? I have first."

"Really? Me too!" He clenched his teeth; he had sounded a little _too_ overexcited. But, by the look on the other's face, he seemed just as excited as he. He let out a small breath of relief, "Well, we should sit together. Meet me by the south doors, we'll find a nice _quiet_ spot."

Alfons only smiled as he turned his head back to the front of the room.

—**xx—**

**He had managed to dodge Envy and Russell as he sped through the classroom and straight to the lunchroom. **There was no need to waste time on putting his books away and lose what could be precious time. He held the bagged lunch in his hand and waited near-patiently outside the doors, looking for the blue-eyed blonde. He nearly jumped when the door opened behind him and he managed to grab two great breaths to calm himself before facing Alfons.

It wasn't Alfons.

"Edward." The two black eyes bore holes into his as Roy glared daggers at him.

"W-what the hell do you want!" He threw his head back and forth, hoping that Alfons wasn't coming just yet.

"What the hell was that display in the hallway? It was just ridiculous." Roy's voice remained cool and calm, as it had always been.

"I could ask you the same question!" He wanted to scream '_Why the hell are you with Ales?_' but couldn't bring himself to. "Look, I'm meeting someone, so why don't you get to your," he growled, "_girlfriend_? I'm sure she _misses_ you."

The black-haired senior continued to glare for a few moments and then shrugged, "Your loss," before half stomping off to the picnic tables to the right.

Ed let out a soft sigh. _Wait—what! My 'loss?' What the hell does—_

"Hey, Ed, ready for lunch…?" He gave his friend a thoughtful look, "are you alright, Edward?"

"Uh…yeah. Why?"

"Er… you're blushing…" he tilted his head nervously.

Edward blinked before flushing even deeper in embarrassment. "I'm fine, let's go eat."

Alfons merely shrugged and followed the shorter blonde, having not seen the scene beforehand. Ed huffed his way through the courtyard where there were people sitting at picnic tables until he made it away from there and out onto the grass.

"Where are we going, Edward?" Alfons asked from behind him. Ed was walking at such a quick, angry speed that he couldn't keep up. He half expected him to snap around with a glare on his face.

Instead, he stopped and waited for him, "It's just over there, under that tree." He lifted a finger to point to where he spoke of.

Alfons let out a tiny breath of relief. He had been sure that Edward was mad at him for something unknown.

The shorter of the two took a seat under a shady willow tree, and smiled at the other as he took a seat right next to him. He dropped the brown bag from his hand. "So, what have you got for lunch today?"

"I've had a lot of extra time in the mornings lately since I haven't been staying up late so I've improved on lunch. It's nothing real special," he dumped out the contents, "sandwich, soup, apple, water. Nothing too exciting."

"Tell me about it," Alfons said, taking a bite from _his_ apple, "same thing, every day."

"Feels kind of nice though," Ed noted aloud, "having a schedule, a certain order."

Alfons tilted his head, "I guess."

Edward flushed, "Did I say that out loud?"

The other boy raised an eyebrow. "Yes…?"

"Uh… nevermind that…" Edward said, looking off in the other direction.

"…alright…?" Alfons tilted his head before taking the last bite from the apple and placing it on the ground. For a few moments there was silence, the two eating silently, Edward scolding himself over and over for saying such an utterly _stupid _thing; Alfons was clearly lost and decided to just focus on his sandwich.

"How old did you say you were, Ed?" Alfons said finally, hoping that Edward would talk with him again.

"Uh, fourteen, why?" Edward said, puzzled.

"No real reason," Alfons said, breathing out in relief on the inside, "I just want to learn more about you."

_This is so weird,_ Edward thought, gazing into the two beautiful watery blue eyes before him, _I should _love_ this kid… he's so incredible. Nice, good looking, outgoing… everything that Roy is _not, _yet here I am, only drooling over him because he looks good, not because I feel for him… because right now I'm thinking of Roy!_

"That's nice," Edward finally responded, "my birthday is in the winter, when it gets really cold."

_But maybe I just need to _move on._ If I can just forget about any feelings I had for him, I can find someone new, or maybe feel something for Alfons. _Alfons was talking, but Ed was only watching his lips. _He seems interested in me. Why am I so worried about doing anything! It's not like I'm cheating! Look at what Roy was doing in the hallway… with Ales! At least I don't hate him!_

And at that last thought of Roy, Edward grabbed the collar on Alfons' shirt and pulled him towards him, kissing him on the lips, not knowing that there was someone watching him from across the lawn.

—**xx—**

**A/U: Woo! I finished! I've had SO MUCH STUFF to do so far (I joined soo much shit in HS…)** We have two (yes **two**) band competitions on Saturday… that's FIFTEEN HOURS of band… so I'll basically be gone all day. Friday I have a halftime show to play and (maybe?) a rave to go to…

…YES I SAID RAVE. –technodance-

SO.

Please wish me luck for the competitions; I'm really hoping we take _something_ home!

ALSO. Sunday is my birfdae. I'm gonna be 15, w00t. So you should all… review… for my birthday.

Lotsa reviews are a great present.

Because the super nice people will wish me happy birfdae.

And… you know… if you REALLY like me… you should… write me an AU fic… or… a bathtub fic… (RoyEd of course)

I'll give RoyEd cupcakes! (Ha, I actually had a RoyEd cake I made last year… took two hours).

Happy Birfdae to me if I don't update anything before then.

Thaaanks.

ALES.


	8. Drunken Confessions

**Disclaimer: Uhm. Roy is not a tennis playing high school student with a large band of women (and men) followers, is he? Ok… maybe that second part is true, but he's not a tennis player, fo' sho. Fullmetal Alchemist? Not mine.**

**Chapter Eight – Drunken Confessions**

—**xx—**

"**Some people, huh?" **Ales commented, pointing straight across the yard as she and Roy walked hand-in-hand across it. "Freshman love, so cute! Two boys, too, hmm."

Roy perked up at this last sentence. He looked at the brunette and raised a brow. "What are you talking about?"

"Those two blondes over there," she said, pointing once again towards a tree, "they're definitely kissing."

Roy rolled his eyes and looked over in the direction of Ales' finger. "What are you talking about, I don't see any—" he stopped.

And looked.

He looked right at Edward Elric locking lips with some kid he didn't even know. He looked real content with himself. In his stare, Roy didn't even notice dropping his soda on the ground, until Ales squealed and jumped back.

"Hey _dumbass!_ I just bought these jeans!" She bent over and rubbed them with her hands over and over until she felt content, and then stood back up. "Nice one, Roy, nice one."

"Uh, sorry," he could only glance at Ales before his eyes were sucked back like magnets to the two boys across the lawn.

"Hello?" she snapped her fingers in front of his face, "What's your deal? Two boys together aren't _that_ big of deal is it?" She tapped her foot, "Hello? Roy? What the fuck?"

He shook his head, "Yeah, whatever." He bent over and picked up his soda and tossed it towards a nearby can.

"What's been your deal lately? You haven't been paying any attention to me." She crossed her arms across her chest, "You're always staring out into space and whenever we're doing _anything_ you're always talking about some stupid freshie you're interested in for tennis." She stepped towards him, "It's been like this for all this week, the first two weeks you were all about me, and you've slowly been fading away. It's like there's… there's someone on the side."

Roy snapped up, (he had been staring across the lawn. Edward was such a little fucker!), "Come on, let's not start with that." He smiled and moved towards her on the lawn, putting a hand around her thin waist. "You know you're special and I care about you."

"It sounds like all you care about is that stupid freshman," She said, whipping her head away from him as he tried to kiss her. "All you do is talk about him."

"I'm sorry," he smiled, resting his head on her shoulder, "You're right."

Ales smiled at him, "Roy, you just need to get your priorities in order is all."

Roy let out one laugh, "And that's why I like you so much, you aren't afraid to be full of yourself, just like—"

Ales lifted her head, "_What? What was that?"_

Roy smiled nervously, "Nothing, honey…?"

"_Like who, Roy? Like who? Like that girl you've got on the side?_" Ales had pushed away from Roy by now and was now clenching her fists, trying to keep herself calm.

"I haven't got a girl on the side, Ales, honey!" He was losing this battle fast. How could he make such a stupid mistake?

"_Don't '**Ales, honey**' me! I been thinking that you were cheating on me all week, and now I've confirmed it! Who is it, Roy?_" She had her teeth together and was grinding them angrily in between sentences.

"_NO ONE._" Roy growled.

"DON'T YOU SHOUT AT ME! THAT'S IT," she screamed, pushing him away, "WE'RE _THROUGH._" She stomped away, and, as Roy watched her, she pushed anyone in her way clear across the lawn.

Roy didn't bother following her at first, still taking in the shock of actually being dumped, and by _Ales_ of all people. He glanced at the two blondes bitterly and then finally spun around angrily and raced away, not quite sure where he was going, whether it was after his now ex-girlfriend or just away from that boy. Just as long as he was getting away.

—**xx—**

**He wanted to go further**. He really did. He wanted to make the boy pant and moan and make him call his name.

But he couldn't. He couldn't do anything more than kiss Alfons, because just doing that reminded him of Roy. He could feel the fire in his heart, but it didn't burn for Alfons at all. It was burning so painfully, telling him _no, this isn't the right one. Try the one you had before._ So, as mentally painful as it was, he had to pull away from Alfons.

They were silent for a moment as Alfons caught his breath and Edward sulked in the embarrassment of one of the more awkward moments in his life. Edward opened his mouth a few times for an attempted apology, but Alfons cut in.

"Is something wrong, Edward?" He cocked his head to the side, giving a worried frown.

"No…" Edward lied, but then corrected himself. "Actually, yes… I can't stop… stop thinking… that this is wrong."

Alfons blinked, "I don't understand… is it that there's something bothering you?"

"Not some_thing _necessarily," Edward frowned, "more like some_one_."

"…" Alfons bit his lip, feeling the awkwardness of the situation engulf him. "…do you mind… mind telling me what happened? I don't want to be a complete waste to you."

Ed bit his lip. What harm could it do, really? "There's… this senior. We had a bit of a thing together and then he left me behind; ditched me and told me that he didn't want a romantic relationship, and I really_, really_ like him. I mean," Edward looked off away from the other boy, "I think I might _love_ him."

"Ah," Alfons commented, "I see."

"But then… then I decided I didn't _want_ any relationships. I was so angry with Roy because he was all I could think about and I couldn't think about _anything_ else, so I decided that I wouldn't date and then I would have a problem.

"But I _did_ have a problem because I still couldn't stop thinking about him. I dream about him sometimes and I often think about him out of nowhere. So when I saw you… when I saw you I saw my perfect chance. You're so amazing, that somehow my brain convinced me that you would make me forget about Roy, but you _didn't_ because my heart wasn't in on the deal, you see? I thought I could forget him," he bit his lip, feeling the tears coming up again. Spilling his heart was making it hurt… a lot, "but I can't… because I think I'm in love with him… and he doesn't even care! He has a girlfriend! I just don't want to hurt anymore… but he keeps pushing me away and pulling me in somehow…"

Alfons watched him as he strained to keep the tears in. "Edward," he said softly, "Edward. Edward, you need to do something, or you're going to go insane."

"But, _what?_" Edward exclaimed, voice cracking as he blinked to keep the tears in further.

"You need to tell him," he looked straight in to Ed's eyes with all the seriousness in the world. "You need to tell him and get if off your chest. You can't go through life wondering, because what if he has feelings? You could be happy."

"But I don't want to get hurt again." Edward sighed, "It hurt so much that I'd love to just avoid it."

"But doesn't it hurt to do that too?"

"Yeah… but it hurt more to be rejected."

"Well, Ed," Alfons said, grabbing his things and standing up, "it may, but that one will go away… not knowing hurts too much more. Believe me," he winked, "I know. Think about it, Ed, think about it." He walked away while Edward was unable to move. How could he? Alfons had told him not what he needed to hear, not that Roy was a stupid bastard. No, Alfons told him that he needed to _tell_ him. _Tell him!_ How could he even do that?

"That's it," Ed mumbled, his heart paining him every time it beat, "I'm finished with love."

—**xx—**

**The silence of the house was calming to Edward's brain. **Today had been a little too much for him and he needed a break. Winry was out on a date, Al was on a school trip, and Granny had gone out of town for today and tomorrow, so he was all alone in the house. Normally, in such an instance, he would be blasting loud music and running around the house screaming along with it.

But Alfons had gotten him to think. The only solution was to give up on love, dating, and anything of the sort. He was right, it did hurt to be away from Roy, but even if he, for some reason, said yes, he would just hurt him again. Roy was talked about around school as a heartbreaker, and honestly, he didn't think he could take it. He had finally figured out what Roy had meant when he told him that "every fan gets a prize." All his tennis fans were hookups, automatically. No wonder all the girls were so excited about tennis matches, they got Roy in return for each one they attended. He was a slut, just as he had stated the first time he met him. But he was so much_ more_… he was… like a whore! He got things in return for his services.

It was almost a relief that he didn't have sex with all of them. In a sick twisted way, he hoped Roy conceived some sort of deadly STD, but he would actually be worried for him if he were _that_ sexually active. That would basically be prostitution!

He sighed as he walked down the stairs, having finished his homework and hoping for a quiet dinner and maybe some TV. Alphonse was his only family link, but he couldn't even talk to _him_ about something like this. He would just keep it to himself. More importantly, he would just quit worrying about dating and love and stupid shit like that. It wasn't important. He made is way into the kitchen and began to make his dinner when the doorbell rang.

"What now?" he groaned aloud, hoping it wasn't Alfons again. He had messed with his brain already today, and once was definitely enough. He turned off the heat on the stove and made his way to the door. "I might as well get this over with."

He reached for the door handle and closed his eyes in irritation. "What do you want?"

"You opened the door, _hic_, that's great!"

Edward's eyes shot open and he looked in the doorway. Alfons was not his visitor. Once again, he was fooled and Roy was the culprit. The only thing he could get out was, "…are you drunk?"

The figure in the doorway was slumped against the frame, black hair spilled over his face, which held a smug, almost carefree smile. His clothes were wrinkled and mussed and he even_ smelled_ of alcohol. "No…" Roy smiled, paused, and then eventually let out a small giggle. "Yes… no! No, I am _not_ drunk!" He slipped a little from the doorway, causing him to fall, but then he caught himself. "I just… just wanted to see you." He giggled again.

"You _are_ drunk, you dumbass!" Edward screamed, "Please, _please_, don't tell me you drove here!"

"No." Roy stated, his face serious for a moment before breaking into a lazy smile again. "Ok, yes. My car is in the driveway." He pointed towards a tree, then the street, and finally in the general direction of the driveway, where the familiar black car was parked at a diagonal angle on it. "But I've been here for, like, hours, you know? Just sitting on your front step."

"Bastard, I've only been home for an hour," Edward was quickly losing his patience, "it can't have been more than that, or I would have seen you."

"Did I say hours?" He giggled in a low voice again. "I meant… uh… minutes… or something. Well, it seemed like hours." He looked away from Edward, "I waited here because I got here, and I wondered, 'Will he even open the door? Will he slam it in my face if he does?' and that was something I didn't want. So I sat, then I thought, 'What will he say to me? Will he say "get out" or "no one wants you"?' and that's another thing that I didn't want. So I sat here. You see, I don't like to get hurt, and you look like the kind of boy that'll hurt me. Hurt me like he did." He frowned and had a sad look in his eye.

"So I sat here, and I waited for the right moment to knock, or, you know, ring the doorbell in this case. I thought of the perfect time and I said, '6:15 will be perfect!' But then I changed my mind. 6:15 is not perfect at all. It's too exact! So I told myself 6:12 because it sounds so good, I mean, six times two is twelve and twelve divided by two is six so how great is that? It's perfect, that's how." He smiled at his own logic as Edward tried to follow.

"So I stood up at 6:11, I couldn't be late, then you'd be angry! I stared at my watch and right when it hit 6:12, I pushed the doorbell!" He made a gesture of pushing, "And I said, '6:12, he's going to be so proud of how good I did!' " He frowned again, "But you were still angry… are your clocks fast?"

Edward blinked. Then, he blinked again. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"You don't get it?" He frowned like a child, "Do you not like my logic? I thought of it just for you." He pushed off the doorframe and tried to stand straight up, moving slowly towards Edward. "Don't you get it? I, _hic_," he covered his mouth and stifled a laugh, "I _love_ you, Edward."

Edward stared; face red with anger and embarrassment. "You… you _bastard_!" He slammed the door right in his face and turned around. He could feel his eyes burning with tears. What the fuck was wrong with today? He leaned against the wall and could hear Roy saying his name behind the door. "Eeeeeeeeeedwaaaaaaaaaaaaard." Edward slipped towards the floor, his heart hurting him more each time every time he heard his name. "Why don't you believe me? I love you, Edward! I love everything about you! Don't you get it?"

Edward fought back the tears for another time that day. "You stupid bastard! Why don't you go back to your stupid girlfriend and leave me the fuck alone? If you think you're going to get easy sex out of me… you aren't! So just stay away!"

"Edward…" Roy said, his voice becoming more regular as they went on, "Edward, Ales… I don't know why I was with her… she's a dumbass… and I don't like her."

"Then why are you dating her?" Edward screamed, "Wait… what? Was?"

"She… broke up with me." Roy said, "She broke up with me because I can't stop thinking about you. She told me I paid no attention to her."

"So what am I?" Edward growled, "Your rebound, your relief? Why don't you fucking go home?"

"Are you even listening to me?" He could hear Roy's voice growing with anger, "I _love_ you! I can't get you off my mind! Whenever I was with Ales, all I could think about was you! Does that mean nothing to you?"

Edward was silent. "I don't care," he murmured.

"What? What was that?" Roy screamed into the doorway.

"I don't _care_!" Edward screamed, tears finally spilling over and pouring down his face. "Don't you get it? You _hurt_ me, Roy! You really, really did! You took my heart and ripped it in half, and then when it was almost healed," he stuttered, choking on his tears, "when it was almost healed, I saw you with _her. Ales!_ You were with _Ales!_ You told me you hated her; that you wished that she would leave you alone! You told me that you thought she was a stalker! I'm sorry if I misjudged you, but I didn't think _you_ would be dating a stalker! Apparently I was wrong because I saw you sucking face with her!" He put his head on his knees and sucked the tears in. "I don't care how convincing it may sound, how truthful the lies are, even if you are telling the truth! I don't care because I'm done with this love shit. You're just going to hurt me again, aren't you? You may not be planning it, but you're going to hurt me somehow. You'll cheat on me, or you'll ditch me for someone else, so what's the point. Alfons was wrong, nothing can hurt more than what you do to me. I'm _done_, you hear me?" he wiped his eyes, "I'm done."

There was a silence that was only pierced moments later by the pop and fizzle of a can opening. Edward knew that sound all too well, but he knew that the sound wasn't soda; he knew exactly what Roy was doing. "…are you opening another beer?"

Roy didn't answer as he downed the alcohol and tossed the can across the lawn. "What do you care? I'm nothing to you apparently. I think I'm gonna drink myself stupid tonight, thanks. I'll go since you're going to be so stubborn."

Edward waited. _I can't let him go on the road; he could hit other people or even kill himself!_ He sucked up his pride, for once, and opened the door. "Get in."

Roy spun around on his heels, looking even _worse_ than before. "What?"

"Get in." Edward wasn't making eye contact. "You will sit down and sober up_ and not drink anything else but water_, and then you will get the fuck out of my house and out of my life."

Roy blinked. "What?"

"_Just get in_." Edward said, digging his teeth into his bottom lip. "I'm not going to let you get on the road and hurt other people."

Roy blinked again and then nodded. "Okay."

Edward went back into the kitchen, letting Roy find his way to the living room. He continued on with his dinner as Roy sprawled out on the couch. He pulled the pan off the stove and poured some soup into a bowl, and then made his way into the other room and sat on a chair. He reached for the remote and saw that Roy was already asleep, curled into a little ball. Edward bit his lip again. "Why does he have to be so cute when he sleeps?"

He silently sipped his soup, not bothering to turn on the television, fearing that Roy might awake and start rambling again. He was actually likeable with his mouth shut, especially when he was unconscious. Edward blinked and looked away, blushing furiously. Who was _he_ kidding? He was in love with Roy. He was almost certain of it. It didn't help that Roy's already angelic features softened even more when he slept…

Edward shook his head and tried to keep the blushing down, but found such actions to be futile when he heard a faint chuckling from the opposite direction of his eye contact with the wall.

"You okay there, Edward?" Roy couldn't stop chuckling, which was an interesting change from the drunken giggling before. Perhaps the alcohol had yet to kick in, or maybe he was actually started sobering up. "I can see the red on your neck, are you blushing?"

Edward refused to look the other way. "_No_, I just have a sunburn." _Oh, nice lie, genius_.

"Haha, sure." Roy got up off the couch and pulled another can from his pocket, popping it open, making another loud popping noise with the action.

Edward snapped around. "I know you aren't opening another can of that vile stuff in this house!" His blush was forgotten as he lunged and tried to grab the can, but Roy caught him and poured a large bit into his open mouth, closed it, and watched the blonde cringe as he swallowed it. Roy giggled drunkenly again, feeling the effects of his alcohol intake take effect.

"What in God's name did you do that for?" Edward spat on the ground, trying to remove the taste from his mouth, and then wiped his lips. "I never said I wanted any!"

"Aw, come on, I started drinking before my freshman year," he smiled lopsidedly, "It'll do you good."

"How could this shit possibly do anything good for me?" Edward growled with the blush still bright in his cheeks. "It's not like intoxication is on my list of things to do."

"It should be," Roy said half-drunkenly, half-seductively. He cupped his chin and leaned in to kiss the other's lips. He smiled as Edward made a feeble attempt at struggling, and then let him go, watching him shoot across the room.

"What…" Edward huffed, bright red and steaming, "_What was that?!_"

Roy smiled playfully, "Oh, nothing, just thought I'd take a chance, y'know?"

"NO, I DON'T KNOW!"

"Really," Roy said, raising an eyebrow, "Did you take a chance when you kissed that boy today?" Judging by the look on Edward's face, he had hoped no one had seen it. "Yeah," he smiled, "I saw you with your _boyfriend_ today."

"He's _not_ my boyfriend!" Edward shouted, only deepening Roy's smile more. "He's _not!_"

"Really," the raven-haired teen commented, suddenly becoming interested in his fingernails. "I suppose you just kiss every pretty boy in the school then. If he's not your boyfriend, then what is he?"

"_Nothing!_" Ed growled. He opened his mouth to say something else, but was stopped when he saw Roy pull out yet _another_ can of beer from his cargo pants' pocket. "WHERE ARE YOU GETTING THOSE?"

"Why?" Roy said, batting his eyelashes innocently, "You want some?"

"NO I DON'T _WANT SOME_!" Edward was on his feet and shouting red-faced right at the slightly drunk, but otherwise calm, teenager. "I TOLD YOU TO STOP DRINKING THOSE, DIDN'T I? DID I NOT SAY THAT YOU COULD ONLY DRINK WATER WHEN YOU STEPPED IN THIS HOUSE?"

Roy stared, eyes glazed over again and the can shaking in his hand. He pointed with the can in Edward's general direction, "I don't recall." He giggled again, a sign that the intoxication was kicking in. "Besides, you're changing the subject. Tell me more about this boy. Maybe I can be more like him and you'll like me again." Roy frowned, "I miss talking to you and hanging out with you."

"Shut up, Roy," Edward sighed, finally losing the pink color from his face. "Just shut _up_. This is just the alcohol and the hurt talking. Your girlfriend broke up with you and you've had too many beers to count."

"No, it's not!" Roy whined.

"You swigged that beer and then started spurting mushy stuff." Edward explained, finally taking a seat on the couch, opposite of Roy. "Before you were like you were like normal, but now you're acting like a lovesick school boy."

"You," Roy said, pointing the drink again at the blonde and trying to sound accusing, "are being ridiculous. You told me, _hic,_ that you wanted a romantic relationship. I realize my feelings for you and I confess and suddenly you aren't dating."

"I'm not dating _because_ of _you_." Edward accused, "You made me this way and I don't want to get hurt anymore."

"You're being immature!" Roy said, setting the drink down on the coffee table. "Don't you know that if you avoid all the things that could _possibly_ get you hurt that you will never enjoy life? If you swing on a swing set and jump off, can't you miss? But if you make it, isn't it fun? Jumping off the high dive is potentially dangerous, but I'm sure you've done that before.

"And the automail," Roy said, suddenly remembering its existence. "Weren't you scared when you were getting it put on? I _know_ it's painful, so I know you do too. You could have just gotten a regular fake limb and you wouldn't have had a problem, it wouldn't have hurt! But you did it, didn't you? You got the automail because you knew it'd be easier to move around in and you'd be able to live your life like normal."

"But," Edward replied, "I… I don't have any doubts this time. I _know_ you'll hurt me."

"No," Roy said, getting off the couch with a sigh, "you just think I will. You think you know me and how I feel right now, but you don't." He shot Edward a dirty look.

"Where do you think you're going?" Edward shot, attempting to mask the pain that Roy's harsh words and dirty look had given him.

"I'm leaving." Roy stated, still shaking a little from intoxication, yet taking another swig from his can. "If you want me out of your life, fine. I'm going to college in a few months anyhow, and I'll be sure to send you a fucking post card."

"No, you are _not_ leaving!" Edward snapped. "Do you not get why you're here? You're drunk, you bastard! I'm not letting you in a vehicle where you can kill yourself or other people!"

"What do you care?"

Edward blinked. "What?"

"What do _you_ care?" Roy repeated angrily. "If you want me out of your life, wouldn't me dying be a great way to do so?"

"Oh, don't give me this suicidal shit, I—"

"_Answer the question_." Roy shouted, "Do you want me out of your life forever or not? I can see it in your eyes, Edward; I know what the answer is."

Edward stared. Roy was right, _again_. But what sort of choice was he going to make now? Would he run into Roy's arms, let him have his way with him, and then wake up alone? Would he let Roy leave, let him go out onto the road and get in a wreck? It was all too confusing.

"C'mon, Edward," Roy said softly, "please, give me a chance. I'll never hurt you, I promise." He took a daring step towards the blonde. "No matter how unhappy I am, I'll let it be _you_ who hurts _me._"

"How am I supposed to believe that?" Edward asked, "I don't think you get it. I just don't know anymore. If I give you a chance and you screw up, you'll have proven me right."

"Why are you so sure that I'm going to screw up? Why are you so sure that I'm such a bad person?"

"Because you skip classes, hook up with every one of your tennis fans," Edward accused, "_and_ you won't leave me alone! To me, you seem like a creepy, bad kid, stalker!"

"I'm _not_ a stalker, you little brat!" Roy seethed, "I came here to confess to you and now you call me a stalker?"

"I can't and _won't_ be with you!"

"You're being stupid!"

"_No_, I'm being mature; I don't need to be dating now anyway!"

"How am I supposed to convince you? Do you want me to get down on my hands and knees? I'll do anything! Here," he reached into his side pockets and grabbed two cans, "take them! I'll stop drinking if that'll make you like me more. The only reason I was drinking was so that you'd let me stay here. What else can I do? Do you want me to propose to you?"

"_No_." Edward snapped.

"Tell me. Your wish is my command. I'll do anything; I'll go make you dinner, though I can't say I'm very good at cooking. I'll," Roy thought, "I'll do your homework. I'll stop skipping class. I'll quit tennis. What can I do?"

Edward stared. Was it possible that he was actually telling the truth? He looked sincere, but as a senior, a theater class was required and he probably knew how to act. Should he test him?

"Roy," Edward said calmly, looking up at him from where he was sitting, "I'm going to ask you to do something. If you do it, and you're sincere, then I may begin to trust you."

"Anything, Ed," Roy said with pleasing eyes, "just say the word."

"I want you to tell me _why _the _hell_ you dated Ales." Ed stated, "And the truth, too."

Roy stared. If he told Edward, it would probably hurt him, and he was trying to keep from doing such to prove that he wouldn't in the future. On the other hand, if he didn't tell him the truth, he might know and then he would never trust him. Edward said he wanted the truth, so he would give it to him.

"Edward, I didn't just date Ales." He breathed. "Originally, I called her up to have sex with her..." he registered the look on Ed's face and felt his heart fall a little, "…to get over you. You see, after that day, I couldn't stop thinking about you. Every time I closed my eyes I saw your face, and every time I fell asleep, you'd be there." He'd leave out the part about the wet dreams. There was such a thing as too much information. "So, I finally thought that because I'd done that with you, being a guy, that it'd had screwed with my brain. But it didn't screw with my brain, it messed up my heart. I couldn't think straight, so I called up Ales, only because we had had sex before and I knew she was great in bed.

"So I got with her and we had sex, and it didn't work because I still was thinking about you. I mean, you can even ask Ales, she'll tell you all I do is talk about you. She won't name names, because I didn't specifically say it was _you_, but she'll tell you I was talking about a freshman." Roy raised a finger to point at him, "you."

Edward blinked. "And that's the truth? You didn't make any of that up?"

Roy shook his head.

"Question two, then: do you _really_ love me?" Edward raised an eyebrow. "I mean, really? I seriously doubt it; you've only known me a little while, and I _know_ you didn't even see me that way before what we did. Are you sure it's not just lust, or a crush?"

Roy blinked. _He's testing me!_ He thought. He breathed and answered calmly, "Honestly? I don't know. I'm almost 100 percent sure that it's not lust, because I'm not looking at you and only seeing the outside. Don't get me wrong, you're good looking and everything, but with you, there's more. I feel like I can be myself, like tennis isn't the only thing, like I don't have to put up an act like I do with everyone else when I'm around you. You're mean, self-assured, and prideful; you don't act like I'm some sort of fucking god. I don't know if it's love, it might just be a crush or whatever, but it can't be lust." Roy sighed, "It can't be."

"Mhm," Edward commented dryly. "Last question: when you see me, are you thinking about having sex with me. Are you thinking about it right this moment?"

Roy gulped. "Uhh… is that really important?"

"Yes." Edward shot, "you said you'd do anything, didn't you? You want me to care? Answer the god damned question."

"Uh, okay…" Roy clenched his teeth and gave in. "Actually… I am." He expected to see a surprised look on Ed's face, but he remained calmed, unmoved. "I am thinking it. In fact, ever since we did, it's all I think about." Roy's eyes widened, "WAIT. NO. That sounds bad!" He gulped again, "…uh… what I meant was that whenever I see you, I think about what we did, and then I end up thinking about more. I look at you and I remember being in the closet and you and I doing what we did, and I see the face you had. I know you were happy, Ed. I want to do it again; I want to make you feel like you did in the closet. I want to do more, and make you feel pleasure you've never felt.

"But I want you to know that I see more than sex when I see you. I see your smile, I see your temper tantrums," he let out a laugh, "I see that time when you got mad at me for taking a picture of you when your hair was down. I see _you_, Ed, and that's what makes me believe I love you. The only reason I have doubts is because I've felt that feeling before for someone else, and it feels different this time. I don't know what to think anymore, and I only feel right around you."

Edward stared at Roy as he seemed to open up before him. _I don't get it. I should _hate_ Roy! I don't know why I feel like I'm ready to jump his frickin' bones. I should hate him! But, if I feel like I like him so much, then why am I just standing here? Why am I keeping myself from being happy? Alphonse told me that I was being stupid and Alfons told me to tell him. Am I only being stubborn because I'm afraid to give myself up for him? Why? I wanted him earlier, but now it's different because he's hurt me so much. Why am I being such a pussy? He's shown me his sensitive side, and he's being entirely truthful. He's amazing and he's trying so hard._

Roy confusedly, "Edward, are you okay?"

_I told myself I loved him, and he's showing me feelings. Why am I not holding him? Why am I not letting him take my hand? **Why am I not kissing him?**_ _This is stupid!_

He grabbed Roy's collar and pulled him down. "Let's give this a chance." He locked lips with him felt himself be the only one involved while Roy was still surprised for what must have been two minutes. Finally, Roy recovered and grabbed his waist, pulling him up until they toppled over onto the couch. Cursing the fact that humans needed air, Edward pulled up and stared into Roy's dazed eyes.

"Thank you, Edward," he smiled, "I promise, I won't hurt you." Roy leaned back down to kiss him when he heard the distant front door open and slam shut. Panicking, Edward shushed the other.

"Come on, upstairs." He pulled Roy's hand and dragged him towards the stairs. "Quickly, and don't say anything."

"Why?" Roy hissed.

"I think my brother's home," Edward said, as the two headed up, "or worse, Winry."

Roy nodded like understood and followed Ed into his bedroom, smiling at it. Before he could observe it any further, he was pulled down on the bed by Edward.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Roy said, staring into Edward's eyes.

"I'm sure," he pecked Roy's lips, and then lay back down on the pillow. "But if you aren't telling the fucking truth, you'll regret it." His eyebrows narrowed, "I mean it."

"I promise, Edward." He closed in on the boy below him covering his lips with his own. Instantly, they were all over each other, as if both bodies had been waiting for this. Hands ran over clothes, as Roy's hand brushed against his skin, up his shirt. He could already hear Edward's breathing speed; feel his heartbeat even through his mouth as his tongue twisted with the other. Feeling himself losing breath, he pulled away, took a breath for just a second, and quickly made his way to the boy's neck, attacking it with no sense of gentleness even in his mind.

"Roy…" The half-moan escaped from the boy's lips and he looked up—had he gone too far? But the only look he saw on the blonde's face was one of encouragement, so he continued. As he fumbled with the buttons on the boy's shirt, Edward growled beneath him and swatted his hands away—only to tackle the shirt on his own and let Roy concentrate on him.

Roy's lips moved down his chest, his tongue circling his nipple until it became hard, and then began sucking until the skin _felt_ raw under his tongue. He moved lower and lower until he was beginning to unbutton his pants—

--and then a call was heard outside the door. Then a knock.

"Edward?" the call came again.

"…Al…" Edward mumbled in a near whisper.

"What?" Roy responded.

"Shh," Edward put a hand over his mouth, "how about we don't let him know we're here."

Roy simply gave a short nod and looked around the room briefly, pulling the mussed blonde off the bed and dragged him towards a door that led to the bathroom.

"What are you doing?" Edward hissed.

"Hiding." Roy said curtly. "Your brother wouldn't walk in on you in the shower, would he?"

Edward shook his head and took his hand from Roy's grip, leading the way. "Okay," he whispered, "but you're going to have to hide. I don't know where, but just find somewhere. If he comes in here and catches me with you…" he glanced away, "just hide somewhere, okay?"

Roy nodded, taking one quick look around the bathroom before spotting a tub with a curtain, and heading towards it. He lay down in it, happy that it hadn't been used so recently, and it was dry. Drawing the curtain, he could hear Edward stripping, clothes softly falling to the ground. He bit his lip, trying to keep any sounds that would decide to come out. Hearing a elastic snap and the crackle of plastic, he figured the boy must have put some sort of shower cap on. Then, the shower came on and he could no longer see _or_ hear him as the glass door shut noisily.

Sure enough, the bathroom door banged open, and though he couldn't see who came in, Roy obviously assumed it was his brother.

"Brother?" Alphonse called towards the glass, earning one angry grumble from his older brother.

"_Yes?"_ He growled.

"Jeeze, there's no need to get an attitude!"

"There's plenty of reason! You just walk in here while I'm taking a shower. I've _told _you to stop doing that!"

"Sorry, Brother, but I know you're going straight to sleep afterwards, and I have a question for you."

"What is it? I want my privacy."

It was all Roy could do to keep from snorting.

"I just wanted to know where you went after school. I waited for you and Winry only showed up. She hadn't seen you either. I got home and you weren't here so I went out like I said."

"Oh," Edward sighed, "I was working on some stuff in the lab. I got home so late that I didn't catch you, I guess. Is that all?"

"Yeah," Alphonse scoffed, "You don't have to be so mean about it, you know. You wonder why you can't make so many friends. See you later, brother."

The door slammed shut and then both boys let out a sigh of relief, and in a minute, the shower squealed off and the glass door flung open angrily. Roy bit his lip as he heard the cap snap off and the boy slowly dress. Finally, when he couldn't stand it anymore, he nearly tore the shower curtain off its hooks, revealing a half dressed Edward, his pants hardly even over his hips. Roy dug his teeth into his lips, hurried over to the blonde, and literally swept him off his feet. When Edward attempted struggle, Roy put his lips next to the boy's and whispered harshly, "Don't bother," and then carried him from the room.

—**xx—**

**Hoe. Lay. Sheet. **Wowie. This chapter put me through a lot of grief. But I _finished _it. I FINISHED IT. I didn't even envision it being this long! Thankfully, it _is finished_, and it's definitely one of the longest I've ever written! 6700 words! Yah! GO MARIA. I may do a victory lap in my room when it's all posted. Gawhd. I'm so excited about posting again. I am _so_ sorry it has taken me so long… I had planned to finish it at the beginning of the month, but my girlfriend dumped me out of _nowhere_ and I have been in a bit of a shock up until the beginning of the week. That is old news. Now I am happy because I have _finished. this. chapter._

Rejoyce.

Now I must go do some victory laps.

Goodnight.

**maria**


	9. Together

**Disclaimer: Back and ready to get back into my Fullmetal Alchemist nerd-dom, I still do not own Fullmetal D:**

**Chapter Nine – Together**

**—****xx—**

_**If we could only fly away from here**__, we could say good-bye to all the tears, and maybe we could spend the rest of our years…_

_Together._

The lyrics poured softly out of the radio as Roy rolled off of Edward, his damp skin sliding against his. Edward let out a large breath of air, his eyes wide, and his mouth still agape. He ached all over, his fingers clenched in fists against his sides. Roy smiled softly at him with his head on the pillow.

"And with that," Roy remarked with a smirk, "Roy Mustang shoots and _scores_—stealing Edward Elric's virginity, for real this time."

"How are you so good at that?" Edward growled, ignoring the previous comment, "I thought you've only had sex with girls."

Roy shrugged. "It's all pretty much the same—you put it in the hole."

Edward flushed profusely, shoving Roy's side as he averted his eyes. "You are such a goddamn pervert!"

"What?" Roy questioned, "It's _true_."

"Haha," Edward snorted, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you had been with a man before me. That's nonsense, of course, though." He laughed, "I mean, who would you have been with?"

"Uh, yeah," Roy replied, "that's crazy."

"Regardless," Edward commented, his breaths regulating, "That was great—though painful—and I'm glad it was you." He buried his head into Roy's bare chest. "I guess, for once, things are gonna work out."

"I sure hope so," Roy commented, as he felt sleep begin to claim him, "I really, really do."

**—****xx—**

**The sun hadn't yet risen**, but Edward's eyes stung with an intensity he couldn't quite understand. The light from the bathroom was pouring in softly, but it wasn't strong enough to make his eyes hurt the way they did right now. He attempted at lifting a hand to rub the pain from them, but found that both were trapped. He strained his neck to see what it was that was keeping him from relieving himself—and then suddenly realized what it was that was making his eyes hurt so much.

A mostly naked Roy Mustang was lying on top of him—his thick cologne was killing his eyes.

Suddenly, the whole night rushed back to him—Roy arriving drunk, pleading for him to believe him to love him, Edward finally giving… and then, Roy _fucked _him.

No, what he thought was sex before—ha!—that was _nothing_. It hurt and felt wonderful all at once, and, though he thought it wasn't possible, Mustang was even more gorgeous when he moaned, screamed, and when showed the release of orgasm in his face. It was the most amazing night of his night, and Edward felt as though he had made the right choice—for once.

Regardless, Edward needed to rub his eyes, so he whispered Roy's name harshly, shaking him awake. Soon enough, his eyes blinked open softly, and his black eyes looked up and connected with Edward's own golden ones. Once he realized where he was, the smile on the older boy's lips formed and he wrapped his arms around the boy, enveloping him in a hug.

"Good morning, sunshine," the senior slurred, "how did you sleep?"

"Wonderfully," Edward growled, "but it would also be wonderful if you'd _get the fuck off of me_."

Roy groaned, but obeyed and reluctantly rolled off of the freshman, occupying the spot next to him in the bed. Edward frantically raised his flesh hand and rubbed his eyes hastily until he felt content. Sighing, he turned to the teenager next to him.

"Jesus, I thought I was gonna have to cry out the pain. Is it really necessary that you wear so much of that stuff?"

Roy shrugged, obviously too tired to create a witty response—or _any_ response for that matter. He snuggled in close to Edward, who, at the touch, scooted away.

"Aw… come on Edward!" Roy whined sleepily, "It's cold on the bed and you're all warm!"

"Get away from me, you friggen weirdo!"

"How is this weird," Roy questioned, "I thought we looovved each otherrr."

Edward glared at nothing in particular, not bothering to respond. In this pause, Roy took the chance to tackle him and pull him into an embrace. Placing his head on his shoulder, the raven-haired boy sighed. "Ahh, that's better."

"You freak!" Edward screamed, and then flung himself backwards with the other still attached to him, causing the two to topple off the bed. They ended up in a very suggestive position—Roy was straddling Edward's naked hips, his own only covered in his boxers, with the blanket covering them only slightly.

This was all very convenient, because at that very moment, the door to Ed's room slammed open and a wrench came flying at Edward's forehead. Winry stood in the doorway, eyes alight with anger.

"_Alright, you asshole! What in God's name possessed you to make you think that's alright to be this loud at this hour—OH MY GOD!_" Her fingers flew to her eyes, trying to cover them in an attempt to unsee what she had already seen. "What the _fuck_ is he doing here?! And why aren't either of you wearing clothes?!"

"I'm wearing boxers," Roy offered, still in the position that their fall had caused.

"SHUT UP," Edward screamed, "AND GET _OFF_ OF ME!"

This time, Roy obeyed, scrambling across the room and beginning his search for his lost clothes.

"Winry, what the _fuck_ are you doing in here!? Get _out!_"

"No! You mother fuckers woke me up and I think I deserve an explanation. Now, I will ask again: _WHAT THE FUCK IS ROY MUSTANG DOING HERE?_"

"He showed up drunk last night and I didn't want him to drive home so I asked him to stay here."

"So you let him sleep in your bed—and both of you are _naked_?"

"That's none of your fucking business!"

"I think it is since your fucking yelling disturbed my sleep!"

"Get the _fuck_ out!"

"I wanna know!"

"Well," Roy offered from across the room, "When two people love each other, they will often touch—"

"UGH! Please don't go into detail!"

"_Please_ don't," Edward growled.

"You guys are _unbelievable_!" Winry groaned—and with that, she stomped down the hallway, the door slamming shut behind her.

"Wonderful," Edward said, head in hands. "This is _not_ gonna be good tomorrow."

Roy returned, wrapping his arms around Edward's body, "I think you mean today, actually," He teased. "Besides, that's later. For now, let's go back to bed."

"I'm not even tired anymore…" Edward sighed, following the other boy back under the covers.

"Good," Roy smirked, yanking down the only article of clothing on him. "Neither am I."

Edward only came to the realization of what Roy was insinuating when his lips came crashing down on his own.

**—****xx—**

**Roy awoke first this time**, sunlight pouring in through the spaces in Edward's blinds. The blonde's head was resting on his chest, and Roy wrapped his arms around him, laying his head back on the pillows. He was unaware of it, but there was a permanent soft smile playing on his lips. This felt… _right_. Everything did. The boy in his arms, their bare skin pressed against each other, the sunlight reflecting off of them… and the memories of the night before.

However, it also brought bad memories—everything that happened to him before. He was committed to Edward now: Roy had promised that. There was no going back on it. How was he to be sure that could hold it up? Last time this wonderful feeling caused his heart to beat faster, when it flowed through his veins, and caused his brain to think this way, he had hurt the other one. He didn't want to do that to Edward, and he certainly didn't want to do it to himself.

After all, that was the whole reason Roy was living in America now.

The boy's breathing began to become irregular, and he stirred against him. His eyes opened as he looked up at Roy, half-lidded and dull from sleep. He, too, had a soft smile on his lips as he looked at the boy, which parted to wish him a good morning.

"Good morning to you, too, Edward." He lifted a hand to muss his hair.

"What time is it?" Edward yawned.

"Six?" Roy said, searching for a clock in the room. Spotting a digital one in the corner, the numbers glowed in green: 6:04. He repeated them to the boy.

"Mmm… alright…" He let out a deep yawn and then separated himself from the embrace. "I gotta get ready… take a shower… ugh…"

"Really?" Roy questioned disappointedly, "That's not cool…"

"I gotta…" Edward whined, "It takes me forever to get ready…"

"Oh… alright." Roy scowled as Edward left the bed, his tiny body sleepily stumbling into the already-lit bathroom.

Roy pouted—aware that now the events that would result from the night before were officially over, and now it was time to get back to normal life. He went to go retrieve his clothes, and then quietly made his leave.

**—****xx—**

**The shower**** had awoken him**, the hot water shocking him out of his sleepy state, so when he removed himself from the bathroom, he was wide awake. He looked around the room, and noticed that all of Roy's clothes were gone—along with Roy. All that lingered of him was that scent, and Edward bit his lip. That bastard _left_ him. Already! He felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

Then, the smart part of Edward kicked in. Roy had obviously left because he had to go home and get ready. Nothing Edward owned would fit him, and he surely wouldn't wear the same clothes to school. The blonde let out a sigh of relief, and then continued scrubbing at his hair with the towel to remove all the water from it.

Every detail, every moment, every feeling and touch lingered in his mind like a sweet taste on his tongue. There was nothing about last night he would have changed—save for the discovery of the two's escapades by Winry. He was _happy_. He wanted to sing, dance, whistle, shout his joy from the rooftops. Sex with Roy had been true bliss, ecstasy. _Being_ with Roy and knowing that the feelings between them were mutual had been even better!

Edward separated his hair into three parts and began to braid it while it was still wet. He had to remember to thank Alfons for his advice—because now he had what he wanted. Tying the ends together with a piece of red elastic, the boy began to dress. Today, however, he wore a red t-shirt and jeans… and nothing else. He did not cover his prosthetic limb, for he did not feel a reason to. Today, the automail would remain exposed, for all the world to say.

If you had asked him, Edward could not have told you why he felt that he did not need to hide his automail on that day, for he didn't know.

He slipped his feet into his shoes and headed downstairs. The clock at the head of the stairs read 7:10, which was good sign. This meant that he was going to make it to school on time today. He pushed open the door to the kitchen with the idea that it was going to be empty.

What he did not expect was that Roy would be sitting at his kitchen table.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?" Edward questioned, a hint of horror in his force.

The boy spun around to meet Edward's frightened face with his smile.

"Well, we're dating now or whatever, right?" Roy offered, "I believe that means I take you to and from school."

"D-d-d-dating?" Edward stuttered. He had _never_ expected Roy to go this far. "Are you joking?"

"Why?" Roy raised an eyebrow casually, as though they were discussing the weather. "Do you not want to be? Because then I'd say all we just went through was quite a waste."

"No! That's not what I'm saying at all." Edward flushed slightly, eyes averted towards the ground, "I just didn't know how this whole thing was gonna work because of your reputation."

"Well," Roy said, finally turning back around as Edward took the seat next to him. "I'm supposed to be devoted to you, we both love each other—I thought that was basically how it works."

"Yeah… I guess," Edward fought back the smile that wanted so dearly to spread across the face. There was bit of a silence before Edward stood from the chair he was seated in. "Do you want some breakfast, then?"

"Hm? Yeah," Roy's eyes gleamed, "that'd be nice."

Edward nodded at him and began removing pots and pans from under the stove, and started removing several ingredients from the pantry and refrigerator.

"Wait." Roy said, mouth half agape, "You're going to cook?"

"Yeah… what did you expect?"

"Cereal? Something microwavable? Certainly not you cooking," Roy gushed, "Where in God's name did you learn how?"

Edward blinked, "Uh… I learned from my mom…" He smiled gently, "She taught me how from bed before she died so I could make her food. I kind of kept it up in her memory, I suppose."

"Oh," Roy replied softly. There was a moment of silence before he offered, "I'm really sorry."

"For what? That comment?"

"No… for your mom."

The two had a sort of stare-down, where neither had any idea what to say. Finally, Edward spoke softly, "it's fine. You didn't know."

The blonde slowly began preparing food in silence, the tension in the air thick. Roy was swearing inwardly at himself for being so dumb and making the conversation between them so awkward. He watched the boy's careful hand measure and stir until he finished, serving up a few plates of apple-cinnamon pancakes. Finally, as he handed Roy his plate, he smiled at him. He moved around to where he was sitting and put his hands on his shoulders. Roy looked up, and the boy leaned down to place a chaste kiss upon his lips.

"Don't feel bad, okay?" He smiled softly, "There's no reason to."

"Okay, I won't…" Roy lied.

"Good—let's not ruin all the good from last night." He took a seat next to him and began devouring his breakfast as though nothing had just happened. Tough as it was, Roy attempted to forget and leaned in to take a bite of the steaming pile of pancakes in front of him.

"Jesus!" Roy leaned back from the plate. "Edward, these are _awesome_! How come you didn't tell me you were so good at this?"

"It's not something a guy tends to flaunt…"

"Well, you certainly have talent." He smiled at the blonde, patting him on the back, "you should definitely make dinner for me sometime."

"Is that an invitation for a date… at your place?"

Roy blinked. Why had he not thought of it before? After all, no adult supervision, no pesky mechanics next door to catch them, and plenty of space. It was Friday, which meant that Edward could spend the night at his place all weekend.

"Maybe it is, Edward," he smirked, "maybe you should come over for the whole weekend."

The boy blinked—and then nearly fell out of chair.

"I'll take that as a yes."

**—****xx—**

**A/N:**_ I HAVE RETURNED! Thanks to a can of Full Throttle Fury, a five hour nap, no life, and new music, I wrote an entire new chapter in one night. Admittedly, it's not my best, but it's going somewhere, promise!_

_SO :__ They're together! That's exciting! Here's the real question… does _anyone_ read this anymore? I updated __Emivita__, and I got NO reviews! So, if you're __loverly__, you should go read that, too. It's depressing, just a warning._

_I'll probably be putting a third chapter of that up sometime this weekend, since I'm grounded this winter break…_

_ENJOY :__ I'm SO happy I finished. I'm __baaaack_

**maria**


	10. Poison Kiss

**Disclaimer: Believe me, if I owned Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward would NOT have fallen for Winry…**

**But I don't and it's awful.**

**Chapter 10 – Poison Kiss**

**—xx—**

**"Jesus… mmm… JESUS! FUCKING… **_**Christ!**_**"**

Roy's finger gripped the leather interior in the back of his tiny convertible. Edward was happily working away at his lower regions, sucking and biting at him through his underwear. Where the boy had acquired such techniques was beyond the older, but he chalked it all up to natural talent. After all, he had never been with _anyone_ before, much less another guy.

However, it was at this point that all of Roy's thoughts flashed away, because Edward had yanked down Roy's boxers and took the length in his mouth. Suddenly, the older boy lost all control, sinking down in the seat, handing over completely control to the blonde, who happily took it. Sudden shocks against his tongue gave Edward the heads up that Roy was about to come, but took no heed and continued swirling his tongue around the head and up and down the base.

"E… Edward… I'm… gonna…" He made an attempted to push him away, as awful as that sounded, but Edward would not listen. Soon, Ed pulled back, grimaced a swallow, and gave Roy—who was nearly unconscious from the previous activities—a lopsided grin.

"So," Ed tilted his head slightly, "it was good?"

Roy lifted his head shakily and gave Edward a half-lidded look and whispered, "yeah."

"Good!" Ed smiled widely, "I figured out how from watching you and remembering what you did and I was hoping I remembered everything."

Roy stared incredulously. If he was _that_ good, then he certainly didn't know how. Then he laughed softly, "What a nerd."

Ed's eyes narrowed, "What did you just call me?"

"You're a nerd," Roy explained, breaking eye contact to work on pulling up his boxers and pants and re-buckle his belt. "No one learns how to blow someone like that—you're such a book nerd."

"You asshole!" He tackled the other and pinned him against the side of the car, "This is the thanks I get?"

"I'm just telling the truth," Roy pointed out, still cool and collected even though he was without the use of any of his limbs, "and no, the thanks you get is this." He craned his neck and locked lips with the blonde, who then loosened his grip on the other. Roy wrapped his arms around Ed to pull him closer, deepening the soft kiss.

Edward pulled back, short of breath and dazed. He mouthed, "I love you," to the older, who shuddered at a memory he'd otherwise rather not remember. Pulling the blonde back, he rested his head on his shoulder, he breathed, "I love you, too."

Ed's heart swelled softly before his watched beeped at him, alerting him that in ten minutes school would start, and no matter how heart-warming the moment was, if they didn't get a move on they would both be late. Therefore, as disappointed as Roy looked, the younger boy pushed off of him and said, "We should go."

Roy breathed angrily, but agreed. "Yeah, I wouldn't want to ruin that perfect attendance award of yours."

Ed glowered, "…bastard."

**—xx—**

**Edward couldn't recall a day he was more excited and nervous to enter the high school.** After all, his automail had never been exposed to the general public since he had gotten it, save for beaches—which he rarely visited. Something about the fact that he now had Roy Mustang by his side, his support and his love, made him more confident to show it off. Winry was, of course, ecstatic.

Then there was the exciting part. He wasn't sure how the whole "relationship" thing worked, but Roy was definitely one of the most popular and respected guys at the school, and to be dating him had to be good for Edward. He didn't know how open the older would be, but as he had witnessed previously, Roy seemed to be quite open to public displays of attention.

As Roy parked in a space suspiciously close to the school, Edward clenched his knuckles. The older boy raised an eyebrow in his direction. "You alright there, Edward?"

The younger blinked, and then made his return to reality. "Yeah, I'm fine." He rubbed the back of his head, "just don't really wanna go to school today."

"Well," Roy smiled, pulling the keys from the ignition and reaching in the backseat to grab his backpack, "in just a few hours, we'll be at my house." He gave the blonde an encouraging smile.

"Yeah," he laughed, reaching forward to grab his own bag, "there's that to look forward to."

Roy didn't respond, but instead opened his door and exited the car. Edward did the same and shot the other a smile from across the hood of the car. "Today is definitely going to be different."

"Uh, yeah," Roy's eyebrow's furrowed. "That's for sure."

"Something wrong?" Edward walked around to face him—_he wasn't already having second thoughts, was he?_

He blinked and shook his head, "Ha ha… uh… no," he hiked the bag higher onto his shoulder. "I just saw someone I don't like very much."

"Oh, well," Ed pointed in the direction of the school, "we better get going."

"Yeah," he mumbled, taking a few steps ahead of Edward and walking ahead of him. The boy behind him raised an eyebrow at the back in front of him, but chose not to say anything. He hoped the whole day wouldn't be as weird as Roy was acting.

**—xx—**

**He didn't **_**mean**_** to act the way he was**. Roy was just_ cautious, _that's all. A repeat of Japan wasn't something that he wanted, so he was distancing himself from Edward a little. What he didn't understand at that given moment was that if he had simply _told_ Edward that he wished to keep distance between them, for their safety, or to wait for people to get _used_ to the situation, Edward would probably have understood. However, his mind was too occupied with all the possible consequences of being, as they say, "out and proud," and decided to just keep his distance. Edward quickly noticed this and made his way towards Roy. The older scrunched his eyes shut, as if this would bring a solution to him quicker.

"I gotta go," He shot, without looking at Ed, "I'll see you later?"

"Uh…" Before he could say much more, Roy was inside the building, headed towards his locker. The senior ran his hand through his thin, black hair and heaved a sigh. This was going to be difficult. He truly, really wanted to be with Edward. Really, with all his heart he wanted to be with him. There was really only one other person he'd ever wanted more…

Regardless, he just had to stay away from Edward all day. Any contact with the boy probably meant physical contact, and that would be a big, fat out to the entire student body, and after that point, there would be no convincing the students that, "no, he was **not** gay, he just happened to like this freshman boy a lot, oh, and that kid from Japan? He'd never heard of him!"

Roy hadn't realized that he was pulling his hair out angrily in front of his locker, and quickly released it to reach forward and enter the combination in his locker. He was so focused on unlocking it that he didn't notice someone walking up behind him.

"Hey, crackhead!"

"I didn't do it!" Roy slammed his back up against the locker, scared out of his mind. However, when he caught sight of his company, he straightened up and furrowed his brow. "Oh… it's you."

Jean Havoc grinned, chewing anxiously at the gum in his mouth. "What's up with you? Been smoking a little early this morning?"

"You're the one that needs a smoke," Roy joked, finishing out his combination, and opening the locker with a satisfying _clunk_. "Are you seriously chewing nicotine gum? What are you, thirty?"

Jean smacked a bubble. "Man, you know if I get caught with another cigarette in this school they'll suspend me. I can't afford to miss another math test." He popped another bubble, and then reached in his pocket, to pop another piece from the foil. He chewed it noisily. "Besides, you're the one who deserves the questioning. Where the hell were you this morning? We went running and you were nowhere to be found. Five A.M., remember?"

"Oh, right." Roy gave his buddy a lopsided grin, "I was getting laid. Sorry."

Jean's jaw dropped, and his gum fell to the floor. Roy grimaced. "What? _What_? Mustang misses the morning run to get laid? That doesn't sound like you! You're usually all over our cases for missing the workout."

"I know it," Roy said into his locker, fishing out his Advanced Calculus book. "Trust me," he continued, "it was worth it."

And it wasn't a lie. It was definitely worth it—a thousand times over—in ways he couldn't explain to Jean or any of his friends. The only person who would really understand was… well, that wasn't important.

Jean waved a hand nonchalantly at his friend as he popped another piece of gum—his last piece of nicotine gum—in his mouth, and tossed the empty foil packet into the garbage.

"You gonna make it the rest of the day on one piece of gum?" Roy inquired, eager to move on to the next subject.

"One piece? Ha!" Jean smiled, "I have a whole box in my locker. Don't you worry your pretty little head."

Roy shot his friend a look and then waved him off, "Come on, let's go to Government."

**—xx—**

**This was all too confusing. **Was this how relationships worked—at the beginning at least? Were they keeping it hush-hush for a reason? Was Roy… ashamed of dating a freshman? Agh! It was so difficult to sort this all through his mind—especially when he had no experience in the matter.

And especially after last night. Jesus. It was easily the best night of his life—so far. Hearing _Roy Mustang_ tell him that he _loves_ him, and then losing his virginity. Hearing his—dare he say it—boyfriend moan, whisper, even _scream_ his name, "Edward… Edward…"

"**Edward Elric**!"

The blonde's head shot up, his braid whipping his neck painfully. It seemed as though he had drifted off in his intense thought, right in the middle of AP Algebra II. The Juniors and Sophomores in the room turned at him, and then laughed. He abashedly wiped the drool from his face and dropped his gaze to the table.

"Uh… yes, ma'am?" He answered.

"I asked you to please solve this logarithm. If you would be so kind to take a break from your nap to do so…"

"Yes, ma'am." He repeated, and moved to the front of the classroom, trying to ignore the snickers from his older classmates. As he passed the teacher, he could have sworn he heard, "…knew it was a mistake to let a ninth grader into this class…"

He scoffed as he solved the easy problem. "The real mistake," he mumbled, "is letting all these other idiots in an AP class." He dropped the chalk and returned to his seat.

The teacher cleared her throat, "Yes, that's correct." She continued to teach her hum-drum lesson and Edward let his mind drift again. If he didn't love math, he would _hate _this class. Practically everyone in here _hated_ him, and they took every chance to let him know it. It wasn't his fault that he was a hard worker, and got an easy A in here. Well, maybe it was, but it was their own faults for being so damn stupid.

Edward ruffled his hair in anguish. He didn't like the way this was starting out. He was _so_ in love with Roy. So much it hurt to think that he couldn't think of his life without him now that he was in it. It was scary to think of the hold this boy had on his life. This frustrated him further, which led t him slamming his head quite audibly on the desk.

Which lit the room up in laughter at his expense. Again.

The boy groaned. Maybe if he just confronted Roy he could understand why he was acting so weird. He hoped that's all it would take.

The teacher finally moved to put the assignment on the board. Thank god, he needed a good distraction.

**—xx—**

**"Roy!"**

Roy Mustang almost cringed at the sound—pretty much the opposite of what he should have done. He heard the footsteps of his secret boyfriend running towards him. The raven-haired senior spun on his heels, giving him a smile. "Edward," he grinned. "What's up?"

"Nothing," He said, smiling so genuinely and beautifully that all that fear and anger Roy felt melted and was replaced with the unadulterated love he had for the boy. "I feel like I haven't seen you all day, Roy. I thought we could have lunch together."

The thought of turning down such an offer crossed his mind, but was quickly dismissed when Roy looked into his eyes. How could he possibly turn down such a face? He put an arm around the boy and led him upstairs—casually away from the public.

"Where are we going?" Edward looked over his shoulder, towards the place where he and his friends sat each day.

"Upstairs," Roy answered curtly, "it's much quieter up there, and we can get privacy." He refrained from saying what it was he wanted to keep private.

"Uh, okay," Edward acquiesced, and followed obediently.

The two settled in between a secluded set of lockers and Roy pulled Edward into his lap, unafraid of showing him affection when there was no one to see. Edward sighed happily, feeling safe and secure in Roy's embrace. Lunch was soon forgotten as Roy's hands wandered down Ed's shirt and around the hem, his fingers grazing the skin underneath. Edward purred softly and turned to putty in the senior's hands. The blonde tilted his head back, begging silently for their lips to touch. Roy smiled hungrily and locked lips with the boy, dipping him slowly so he could lay him on the floor. The boy's hearts sped in unison, and Roy pushed into the kiss and move his fingers underneath the fabric.

Then, the sound of footsteps down the hall sent Roy in a flurry, pushing Edward away and slamming his back against the lockers. Roy's heart pounded, but not in the fluttery way it had been before, but in the frightened way it had back then…

The footsteps died away into a classroom, and Edward shot up angrily, staring into Roy's eyes with a burning fury. "What the _hell_ is wrong with you?"

"I…" Roy stuttered, finding himself lost for words. How could he possibly tell the boy the truth behind it? "I…I'm so sorry, Edward."

Roy grabbed his things and dashed down the hallway.

**—xx—**

**"He did **_**what**_**?"** Russel said, a protective edge to his voice. He sounded like an angry older brother ready to pounce on some dirtbag that violated his younger sister. Only, in this case, it was Edward, not a younger sister, and that "dirtbag" was Roy.

"Russel, keep your goddamn voice down." Edward chanced a glance around him, but didn't see anyone looking at him. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Damned right it's a big deal! This guy is keeping you a secret, he's _ashamed_ of you. Edward, I'm not going to allow _anyone_, not even a senior_, _to treat you like that. You're nothing to be ashamed of!" Russel ground his teeth.

"Well, _golly_, Russ," Edward jokingly waved his hand in front of his face like a fan, "what a way to talk to a girl."

"This is _not_ a joke. Just wait until I get my hands on him… I'll teach him a goddamned lesson."

"Seriously, don't worry about it. We're two guys together," Edward reasoned, "maybe he's just… not ready for it."

"Well, he could have just said so," Russel scoffed, "it's not fair to you."

"Hey, that's my line." Ed joked. "It's alright, Russ, we just got out of control and he was surprised. I promise."

The problem was, he didn't exactly believe that. When he said that, he was really just trying to convince himself. After all, he had just gotten Roy in his hands, the last thing he wanted to was let him go. He'd be willing to convince himself into just about anything if it meant keeping him.

The bell rang, saving him from more Russel's words. He quickly gathered his things and rushed to his locker. As he retrieved his books, he wondered, _what now?_ Did he go ahead and go to Roy's car, or did he start the long walk home? God damnit! He thought he was finally in the right place with that boy, and yet, the last time he saw him, he was running from him! He knew he wasn't cut out for this whole romance thing.

Right before his closed his locker, he saw that there was a piece of paper shoved through the grates of his locker. He grabbed it angrily and unfolded it. It read:

_"Ed,_

_I'm really sorry for this afternoon. I didn't mean to run off like that, I just got freaked out. I know you've probably been freaking out since I ran off, and I've been texting you like crazy, but getting no response kind of sucks (thought I probably deserve it) so I thought I'd try to reach you through your locker. I was a jerk._

_So, yeah, sorry. If you forgive me, I hope I'll see you in my car after school. I wait as long as it takes._

_Roy"_

Ed swooned easily. It was far from romantic, but just the fact the he apologized and explained helped. He smiled and folded the note, shoving it in his bag. The locked slammed shut, sending an echo down the hallway, and he bounded down the steps to the front door.

In no time, Edward found Roy's sharp car in the parking lot, and one tall, dark, handsome—not to mention, rather sad-looking—senior. Edward bit his lip, reminding himself that this boy was _all his_, and he half walked, half skipped to the car.

"Uh, hey." Edward said, causing Roy's eyes to dart to him in surprise.

"Hey, old friend." Roy smiled lopsidedly.

"Word in the locker room is that the great Roy Mustang missed the morning run with the tennis teams to get a lay. Wonder who the lucky gal was."

Roy chuckled and then moved to open the door for his boy. "Nah," he said, "he's the real lucky one, I hear."

Edward took a seat and buckled up while Roy took his and started the car. Talk was easy on the ride over to Ed's, and Roy wished him good luck as he disappeared inside the house. The shouting was so loud, it was even heard inside the cozy confines of Roy's automobile. Even as Ed left the house, with a bag in hand, Winry chased him outside.

Edward made it into the car safely, however, and as the two drove into the city towards Roy's flat, the blonde wasted no time before he began complaining, in detail, about the fight in his house. Even as the two parked in front of the building, and Roy walked him to the elevator, Edward didn't seem to notice.

In fact, it wasn't until the doors to elevator opened to Roy's flat that Edward's mouth stopped. This was because the boy's jaw dropped a good three inches, at the sight of the loft in front of him.

**—xx—**

**A/N: **_Ahafaksjfhkjshga. DONE! :D It's been over a year. I'm such a deadbeat. However, I've been really sick and stuck on this couch, so I decided to write a new chapter. It's unbetaed, but I don't really care. I'm posting it RIGHT NOW and I don't care. I'm so happy that I finished! I hope you enjoyed it :D_

_Please review. And tell your friends to read. I don't get many hits anymore D: Poor me._

**maria**


	11. Time Bomb

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist**

**Chapter 11 – Time Bomb**

—**xx—**

"**What the **_**fuck**_** is this place, Roy?"** Edward dropped his bags in shock and walked in, mouth agape. His fingers brushed over the expensive pieces of art on the walls, the shelves of books and DVDs and VHS tapes, and settled on a black leather couch. He studied the walls, a deep blue, which matched some of the blues that Roy would wear. The room had a strange scent—a mix of sandalwood and sulfur, and a hint of something that reminded him of maple syrup. He felt creamy fabric under his fingertips as he ran hand down a hand-rest on the couch. Parallel to the couch was a gigantic flat-screen—one that was as big as five or six of Ed's televisions.

Of course Roy would live in such a place. Of course he'd have a thousand DVDs and a fine leather couch and art on the walls—and of course he'd live alone in the middle of the city. Even as Ed thought of all this, Roy was smirking in front of the now-closed doorway. Ed knew that every part of this apartment was purely Roy Mustang in every way. That scent was him—he had the smoky smell permanently embedded in his mind—and the colors, the blues on the wall, the black couch, the fiery reds and yellows and oranges in the art on the wall—they were all him.

"Impressed?" Roy bragged.

"It's alright," Edward lied—badly.

"Whatever," Roy smiled, sliding into the seat next to him. "You know it's great." The senior casually put his arm around his boyfriend.

"How do you even afford this place? Did you have a rich sugar daddy?" The blonde ignored the arm and stood up to explore the loft further. Ed chose to study the huge shelves of DVDs on the wall adjacent the couch. Scanning the titles, he'd occasionally exclaim, "oh!" or "no way!" and Roy's smile would return a little more from it's wounded state of being abandoned for videos.

"Oh, my god," Ed finally turned to the boy across the room. "You have _Wanted_?! Oh, we are so watching this." He popped the disc from the case and placed it in the soon-found DVD player without so much as a word from Roy, who was now sitting, eyes wide, at his hyper boyfriend.

"Really, Ed?" Roy whined, raising his voice as the opening credits came on. "I thought we could do something…" he leaned in to encircle the boy in an embrace, and put his lips practically on his ear, "…more _fun_."

Edward flushed into a color that was somewhere between a sunburn and a maraschino cherry. "We'll have plenty of time to do—er—_that_. Why can't you think of something other than _that_ for a few seconds?" He struggled in Roy's grip, but to no avail; the senior had him locked into a super-hug.

"But, it's so _good_ with you, Edward." He smiled into his boyfriend's ear until dropping his chin to his shoulder.

"I don't care." Edward retorted firmly, before freeing himself from Roy's stranglehold. Roy pouted and then acquiesced sullenly, putting his arm around Ed gently, allowing the boy to get closer to him. For a moment, the movie was lost in Roy's scent, which instantly warmed his mood. He still couldn't seem to fathom how he got here—in Roy's arms—as he moved as close as he could.

Roy buried his face in Ed's golden locks before hitting a button on his remote, and the lights in the room shut off, and the blinds closed, making the room pitch black.

Edward interrupted his moment of comfort to look up at Roy in incredulity. He then laughed and looked down, mumbling, "…fucking unbelievable."

—**xx—**

**About halfway through the movie, **Edward began squirming. Roy had fallen asleep on his boyfriend, and now he was dead weight on his shoulder. He was trying to concentrate on James McAvoy in a vat of wax, but to be honest, it was hard to think of anything with this beautiful senior leaning up against him. Occasionally, he would murmur something incomprehensible that would sound like "moos" or "hays" so Edward could only imagine what sort of farm scenes he was dreaming of. The blonde finally gave up on figuring out what he had missed and shoved Roy—gently—to the right, and watched him fall to the other side of the couch. He stirred in his sleep a little, but quickly repositioned and fell silent. Ed smiled at him, and then judged where he was sitting so he could try to get next to him. Unfortunately, Roy had sprawled himself selfishly across the black leather, leaving Ed no room. Admitting defeat, Edward scowled and then moved to his boyfriend's side to try to rouse him. Taking firm hold of his shoulders, he gave Roy two gentle shakes, which did little but frustrate him.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Edward discovered that he would either have to finish the movie on the floor or sit on his lover. Neither sounded very pleasing to the boy, which caused him to smack his boyfriend on the back of the head out of anger. Immediately, he regretted the move, and as Roy stirred and lifted his head, he tried to think of some sort of an explanation for such an action. Roy looked up, dreary-eyed, which ha quizzical look on his face.

"Uh, I tripped," Edward lied. "Sorry."

"Mmm…" Roy rubbed the back of his head and sat up further. "Whatever… When did I fall asleep?"

Edward breathed out in relief, "About twenty minutes into the movie."

Roy stretched theatrically and yawned, collapsing lazily against the back of the couch. He patted the spot next time, inviting Edward to take a seat next to him. "Sorry," he apologized, "late night, you know." He grinned lopsidedly at the younger boy.

Edward flushed. "Is that _all _you think about?" He chewed on his cheek and looked off into the other direction.

Chuckling, he reached out and cupped Edward's chin. Turning Ed's face towards his own, he looked into Ed's fiery gold eyes. "Of course not, Edward," he purred, causing Edward to melt. "It's just hard to forget."

Before Ed could respond, or even think of a response, Roy had his lips covered, and was hovering over him, their bodies impossibly close to touching. Edward's chest heaved, his heart speeding. Roy's lips moved softly against the other's, feathers on his chapped lips, barely touching him. Ed's mouth went dry, praying that Roy's fingers touch his skin, his tongue touch his, him to be rough. But instead, the older boy merely ghosted over his body, forcing Edward to make a move.

Edward had never really been the aggressor—not that he had had much opportunity to. However, when had grabbed Roy's lithe waist and flipped him over, when he had him under his control, he felt like a different person. Roy submitted to his touches and kisses. The little bit of experience that Edward had acquired was in his hands and on his lips. His hips moved instinctively against Roy's, his hands sliding up the soft shirt he was wearing, feeling his chest under his fingertips. Edward pushed further into his kiss, testing the waters, seeing how far he could push Roy before he stopped him and reclaimed his dominance.

But Roy made no such move. He dusted Edward's sides with his fingertips, and mimicked each of Ed's movements. When Edward's tongue forced its way into his mouth, he let him explore. The blonde felt need blossom and multiply in his stomach, his love for Roy catch fire in his chest, and threw this all into physical statements. He removed Roy's shirt in one swift moment, and began kissing down his neck, his teeth following. The dark-haired boy arched his back at the rough treatment on his skin, letting himself be consumed by the boy's fire. Every now and then, Edward would find a spot on his neck or shoulder to suck or nibble on that would earn him a chesty moan from his lover, encouraging him further. As his lips made sure to kiss each part of his upper-body, his hands were slowly traveling down to Roy's hips, traveling inward. Mid-moan, Roy hissed as Ed grasped his need, and raised a hand to halt him.

But Edward was far too engulfed in his control over Roy to allow such an action. One hand moved from Roy's groin to grab the offender in an automail grasp, and hold it down. The older boy gulped; he had not plugged automail limbs into the equation, had not planned on being truly powerless at the hands of Edward Elric. He looked down at the boy and earned a devilish grin from him as the hand not holding him down unzipped his fly.

Roy braced himself for a blowjob, but jerked up at the sound of Ed's zipper being moved as well. Edward looked at him with the most innocent eyes in the world. "What is it, Roy?"

The other search his mind for words, trying to force some sort of sentence through his dry throat. But, he was, indeed, powerless.

Roy Mustang was fucked. Well, at least, not yet.

—**xx—**

**Edward dressed swiftly**, allowing his boyfriend to remain mostly nude under the blanket that he had tucked him into. He smiled softly as Roy snored softly, at his mussed black hair, at his beautiful sleeping face. It would take a while for him to get over the fact that he had Roy Mustang all to himself. After a moment of gawking, he grabbed his things from the front door where he had dropped them and began to search for the bedroom where he assumed they'd be kept. One hallway was all he had to choose from, thank God, and he tried the first door, which happened to be a bathroom. He noted that, as he assumed he'd need to use that very soon.

Upon the inspection of a third doorway, he found Roy's bedroom. It was rather basic, especially in comparison with the luxurious living room where had laid with sin. A bed with a dark orange-red bedspread sat under a window, where the sunset created the illusion of flames on the blankets. Edward dropped his bag and gave in to his curiosity to explore. He shut the door quietly and moved to a table, which sat alongside the bed. Under a simple lamp, lay a battered brown book and a picture frame. Grasping the black frame in his hands, he looked at the picture within. Two boys sat under a pink-and-white blossoming tree, snickering to each other, as if they were keeping some secret from the nature around him. They were sitting impossibly close and looked quite intimate.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that one of these boys was Roy—a Roy from a distant past, who wore thin spectacles and wore a black uniform. His face was rounder, less defined than the boy who Edward had fallen in love with. The boy opposite him wore glasses as well, ones that were more rectangular and balanced on the edge of his nose. He wore the same uniform, and had dark hair as well, but it was shorter and spiked. They both looked the same age.

Edward sat on the bed in frustration; he tried to remember seeing such a boy at the school, but couldn't remember a senior that looked anything like him. In fact, when studying the two's surroundings, he couldn't recall a place in Los Angeles looking like this. The blonde bit his lip and tried to understand the photo in his hand, but couldn't decipher it—even with his vast depths of knowledge.

He replaced the photo on the table and sighed, eyeing the brown book opposite it. He _knew _he shouldn't touch the book, be it a journal, an address book, or a diary, but it called to him. It asked, _don't you want to know whom this boy is, who's touching your love so intimately, laughing with him so easily?_ Heaven help him, he wanted to know. His hand touched the cover; it's rough leather scratched against his fingertips, so different from the couch in the other room—the couch his boyfriend dozed on, unknowingly. The book sent a jolt of electricity through him, intensifying the feeling of wanting to open it's cover and absorb its contents, like a thick, first edition science journal would feel. But this book would not unearth another portion of worldly secrets; teach him more whys about how things work. This book, would tell him of the past of the boy he loved. The secrets that he dare not ask about.

Edward gave in, grabbing up the book hastily. He opened the book, the book gave a sort of satisfactory crack in its spine, a stretch it hadn't received in a while. Creamy white pages lined with slightly messy scrawl greeted him, a date at the top revealed that his assumption had been correct; in his hands, he held Roy Mustang's journal.

Stealing a glance around the room, he made one final check to make sure that he was alone, and otherwise safe. He took a deep breath and braced himself for what secrets he was about reveal to himself.

_August 4__th_

_So, we just moved into this new building. Maes lives two floors down now, which is pretty cool, but now we live in this apartment complex, mom said we're not allowed to go walking around so much. The new place is pretty awesome. Dad is making so much money now that we've got an entire floor. He wanted the penthouse, but it was taken, and mom didn't want us to move away from the Hughes'. They moved in, too, which is great. I haven't looked at their place yet, but dad said that it's not as big. I don't really care. All I care about is being close to Maes. My mom is really excited about the new apartment. She has her big kitchen now, and we all have our own rooms, but Kora and I have been sleeping in my room every night, cause I have a great view of Japan. This is the first time we've lived in the city, so she really likes looking out the window at the city. She's started talking to me about college, which makes me kind of sad, because I'm really gonna miss her when she's gone, but she promises me that wherever she goes that I can visit her all the time. I guess that's cool._

_Also, we've started talking about Maes. She's being really cool about the whole thing, but this is the most confusing thing I've ever dealt with. It's getting to the point where—_

Edward heard stirring down the hall and slammed the journal shut, hastily putting it back on the table and jumping up off the bed. He heard Roy calling his name and scrambled to his bag across the room, pretending to unpack his bag. The raven-haired boy opened the door to his bedroom and looked down at the blonde quizzically.

"What are you doing?" He asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

"Well, while you were bein' lazy, I wanted to unpack my bag. Not all of us sleep the day away." Edward said, not looking up.

Roy laughed, "Well, pardon me. I can't help that you wore me out."

"Oh, I did I…" Ed's sentence was lost as he looked up at his boyfriend. He hadn't bothered to completely dress the way Edward had. He had put on his jeans, but didn't feel like zipping them up was completely necessary, causing his black boxers to be easily viewed. As for a shirt? Roy, it seemed, had laughed in the face of wearing a shirt. Edward drooled.

"What was that?" Roy teased.

"Uh… nothing…" Ed mumbled, he removed his clothing and stood up, eyes averted from Roy, to put them on top of the dresser. There, sat another picture frame, this time filled by what seemed to be a family photo. He put the clothes down and grabbed the frame.

"Is this your family?" Edward asked.

"Obviously," Roy responded sarcastically. He took the photo from Ed's hands and examined it himself.

"So… where are they?" Ed tested the waters. He didn't want to be too obtrusive so early in their relationship.

"Japan," Roy answered curtly, without explanation. Edward took the hint and nodded. Roy frowned and put the photo back, then placed his hands on Ed's shoulders. "So, what's the plan for this evening? You wanna go out tonight? I'm afraid there's not a plethora of food in the refrigerator, so making dinner isn't exactly an option."

Edward shrugged. "Whatever you want to do."

"Well, Edward, I live in the middle of town, so we have an excellent choice of places to go. If you want, I can get you into a club, but I have a feeling that you'd rather get food than dance in a room full of sweaty drunk people; and to be honest, I don't really want to hang out with all those people anyway. So, what'll it be? What are you in the mood for?"

"You know the place better than I do. Just choose somethin' good." Ed smiled and kicked his bag under the bed. "I'm gonna go shower. Let me know when I get out where we're goin' so I can know what to wear."

Roy nodded, and considered asking Ed if he could join him the shower to get him back for what happened on the couch, but decided to let the matter drop for the moment. He collapsed on the bed and took the picture on the bedside table in his hands. His fingers fit into the worn spaces where had picked up this frame millions of times. The shower started noisily in the next room and he bit his lip tentatively. Looking at the picture in his hands, his mind subconsciously compared the boy in the picture with the one in his apartment.

The senior sighed. This was such a great picture of Maes; his glasses glinted in the sun, illuminating his emerald eyes. His smile was slightly parted in laughter, as he and Roy had snickered at the book they had been reading together. Maes had always looked good in the slender Junior High uniform. Roy's heart pounded uncontrollably, and he forced himself to replace the picture.

How many times had he fallen asleep with this picture in his hands? How many times did he absentmindedly stare at it, wishing he could transport himself back to that easy time? How many dreams had he had, had he written down in that battered journal? How many times had he woken up after a heated dream and submitted to teary eyes and sleepless nights?

…and what about Edward? What about the struggle they had gone through just to be together? What about the feelings that Roy had for him, the ones that had left him up at night, that had worried him—scared him? What about what he felt when Edward was in his arms, sleeping soundly—when he watched him then, he just wanted time to stand still so he could feel that way forever. What about that?

Roy put the picture back and sighed out of frustration. There was simply nothing to think about. Edward was here; Maes was there—and after all that had happened with him, there was no future for them. Edward was his future. Roy lay back on the bed, hearing the shower turn off in the other room with a _squeak_.

The choice was clear. Sort of.

—**xx—**

**Edward hadn't planned on going somewhere nice**, but leave it to Roy to take a simple occasion like dinner and turn it into something pricey and fancy. He squirmed in the shirt Roy had put him in, feeling unnaturally stylish in his jeans and one of Roy's old black polos. His boyfriend, on the other hand, looked comfortably handsome, as he usually did, in a pair of what he could only assume were designer jeans, and a exquisite looking black blazer. He was flirting shamelessly with the hostess, causing Ed's cheeks to burn further in jealousy. He was about to pummel the hussy with his automail fist and drag Roy out of here, when she stood up and led Roy towards a table. The older motioned for him to follow without looking, and Ed considered turning on his heels and walking right out the door. However, he gritted his teeth and begrudgingly followed.

As they weaved through the restaurant, Ed noticed that the crowd was becoming thinner and thinner. Finally, the girl sat them at a table in a secluded area of the restaurant, and left her lasting, skanky effect by letting her fingers linger on Roy's shoulder too long, giving him a disgustingly flirty look before walking off.

"What the _fuck_ was that?!" Ed shouted, not bothering to sit down before chewing out his boyfriend. "I was standing _right there!_ You couldn't wait a whole weekend to slut yourself on some bimbo?"

Roy wasn't even looking at him; he was shaking out his napkin and placing it in his lap. "Well? Aren't you going to say anything?"

The older looked up and merely responded, "She's an old friend."

Edward growled, "you mean an old _fuck-buddy_."

Roy merely shrugged.

The blonde shouted out in frustration.

"Edward, please stop making so much noise and take a seat. You're acting like a child."

Edward obliged to sitting, but refused to quiet down. "Is that what I am to you? A child? I hate to remind you, but I'm only three years younger than you, bastard! Just because I'm younger doesn't mean you can just go around flirting with random floosies!"

Roy sighed, putting down the menu he had been observing. "I wasn't flirting, Edward. I was getting us a quiet table so we could talk in peace. Clearly my efforts were for none, since you want to be louder than the entire restaurant."

Edward frowned. "Whatever."

Picking the menu back up, Roy added, "There you go again, acting like a child."

"Well I'm sorry I'm too _young_ for you, bastard. Maybe you should go find someone who's better _suited_ to capture your attention." Edward sunk low in his seat crossing his arms across his chest.

Roy stood up from his seat with a heavy breath and rounded the table, leaning down to capture his pouting lover in a kiss. "Look, your age doesn't bother me, Edward. I know you're mature for your age. Just please, act it."

Edward smiled and acquiesced, straightening his posture. Roy took his seat back and his menu in hand.

—**xx—**

**Once the food arrived and was devoured, **the two had nothing standing in the way of having a conversation. Edward wanted to ask so many journal-reading inspired questions, but Roy beat him to the punch.

"So, Ed, I have to know—how did you get the automail?"

Edward stopped sipping his drink and shakily placed it back on the table. His eyes widened slightly at the question, and he was too stunned for words.

"I'm sorry, is that off-limits? I understand if you aren't willing to answer."

Edward let out a breath of air and rested his palms on the table. "No, Roy, it's okay… I just don't get many people asking about it." Edward bit his lip and braced himself for a long tale. Reluctantly, he began, "I guess I need to start from the beginning.

"I was born in a small town, several miles outside of Los Angeles. I lived with my parents and my little brother, who was born a year after me. For a while, it was good. The times I remember were really great. However, sometime after my fifth birthday, I remember that my dad and mother were fighting in quiet, stern voices. My brother and I had crawled out of bed to watch the wreckage through the opened door. Finally, it seemed as though my father said the final word, because he opened the front door and walked out, leaving my mother alone, a depressed heap on the kitchen floor. My father did not bother to come say goodbye to his two sons. We never saw him again after that day, and still don't know why he left. I probably never will.

"It was hard for a while after that, but things eventually got better. With my father gone, his study was open to me; suddenly, it was like I had this whole plethora of information at my feet, and all the time in the world to learn it. My mother marveled as I read books that were sometimes almost half my size, parking myself under the big tree in the meadow for hours at a time, sometimes skipping whole meals.

"I learned at an exceptionally brisk rate, always excited when I learned something new, especially in science, because I could take it to my mom and it'd make her smile. She'd always say, 'You're talented, just like your father.' Which angered me a little, but I knew it made her happy, so I'd struggle to read books that were meant for adults five times my age.

"Things were really great for a really long time. Winry, who lived where she does now, would come in from the city every now and then and talk about school and the city and Al and I would beg our mother to move so that we could attend public school and make friends. Each day and night was all about making my mom happy, and living was easy in the warm hills and valleys. The whole world seemed to be in the palms of our hands as I excelled in science and math, and Al made is own strides in English, and quickly became interested in History. My mother was so proud of us. It felt like nothing could go wrong.

"But, one day, my brother and I came in from a rousing game of tag to discover that my mother collapsed on the floor. We panicked and called the local doctor. Waiting patiently, we sat outside her bedroom as the man treated her, Winry and her Grandmother sitting outside with us. Finally the doctor emerged, saying he did not know what was wrong, but it looked like she was going to be alright.

"For the next couple of weeks, though, my mother continued to have fainting spells, closer and closer together as time went on. The doctor continued to visit, but couldn't tell us what was troubling her. Every time he said she would probably get better, but she continued to get worse. Soon, she was getting weaker, and the illness was showing up on her face in the form of bags under her eyes, pale skin, throaty coughs; and after one particularly nasty fall, my mother didn't get back up. After that, she was bedridden, forced to stay in he room each day; I had to prepare the meals, clean the house, and take care of Alphonse.

"On my tenth birthday, my mother taught me how to make a cake, and the three of us celebrated in her room. We lit the candles and I blew them out, wishing, _praying_, that if there was a God, that my mother would get better. That night, it seemed as though my wish came true, because my mom was full of life, happy, and the three of us laughed like her sickness didn't even exist.

"After our party, I put away the cake in the kitchen, but then decided to light the candles again, so I could wish _one more time_ for her to be better."

Edward stopped. He bit his lip and looked away from Roy. Alarmed, Roy reached out and took Ed's hand in his. "You… you don't have to the tell the rest if you don't wish to do so, Edward."

Ed gulped and took his hand away from Roy. "No, it's… it's fine." He took a deep breath. "I took the candles and put them back in the cake and lit them. I remember standing on a chair and leaning forward, taking a big breath, and prepared to blow out the candles, but then Al called my name and I ran from the room. I forgot about the candles and let them burn. I don't know what happened, but before long, Al and I smelled smoke and we ran into the kitchen. The fire from the candles seemed to have caught on something else and the kitchen was thoroughly on fire. I called the fire department and ran out of the house, but then remembered that my mother would not be able to get out on her own. Al begged me not to go in by myself, but I wouldn't listen. I bolted into the, by then, completely burning house, and ran up the stairs, through the smoke. The house was creaking and giving way to the fire, and I had to be quick to dodge falling debris. Right before I got inside her room, the roof collapsed and fell on me. The pain was so unbearable that my vision started to go, and all I could feel was that my right arm and left leg were in terrible pain.

"At some point, I blacked out, and when I came to, I was in a Los Angeles hospital. Al was sitting at my side and he rushed over. When I asked about mom he fell silent, and then the doctor came in and told me that she had passed on before the fire had even started. I can remember the shock, the anger when I realized that I hadn't even needed to run back into the house. And then I saw my arm and leg…

"They were stumps. My leg stopped at the knee, my arm completely gone. Amputated. That was when it all hit me. And I cried."

Ed paused for a moment, and Roy thought he might tear up, but then he seemed to catch himself and decided to continue. "For a while after that, I was depressed. I stopped reading, writing, and soon, eating. I lost weight at a disgustingly fast rate, and as much as Al and Winry tried, they could not placate me. In my depressed stupor, the two became rather close, forcing me further into my despair at the feeling of alienation.

"But then, one day, I saw a man walk into Winry's house without a leg for automail surgery. He reminded me of myself, with the same aura of misery that I felt. This man came again and again after his surgery, looking stronger and happier each time he left, and it inspired me. I told Granny Rockbell that I wanted the surgery at any cost. Try as she might, she could not talk me out of it.

"Roy, the pain was excruciating. Nothing is the world is worse than the feeling of having each nerve poked and prodded and attached _by hand_, even with anesthetic. Not even the initial accident. But I pulled myself through it, knowing that the result would be worth any sort of suffering. And it was.

"After I had mastered using the automail, I was a changed boy. Stronger. Happier. I began public school and soared through As. I made friends. But deep down, I still felt that hole in my heart that my mother left. Even after moving in with Winry, I sometimes woke in the middle of the night, teary and scared. But I knew that I had to keep going, because it was what she wanted. I vowed, as I entered Junior High, that I would get straight As and get into a good school and _become_ something, because although, that night, I lost all faith in any sort of God, I knew that somewhere, she was looking down on me, still proud."

Edward inhaled, and then sighed from the depths of his lungs. "Well, that's it, that's how I got it. I've… never actually told anyone that story before."

Roy struggled for the right words. What could he possibly say to follow up such a story? Not to say he, too, didn't have a past. "Ed… I'm… so sorry."

Edward sniffled self-consciously, and replied, "It's fine. It's kind of nice to tell someone." He smiled, "especially if that someone is you."

Roy grabbed Ed's hands lovingly and replied, "I'm glad it could have been me."

Ed grinned and then took his hands back so he could wipe his nose. "What do you say we get out of here?"

—**xx—**

**Everything felt right when Edward was in his arms**, even as Roy's eyes caught sight of the framed picture opposite him. The boy breathed evenly, sleeping soundly. Roy loved this feeling; he wanted to think that nothing could possibly change this wonderful love that Edward and he had. But, what would happen when Edward asked about his past? What would happen when he wondered why he lived all by himself in the city, or who the boy in that picture was? Where his family was?

Roy didn't want to lie, but he couldn't imagine telling his truths to anyone. His past scared him, and he was frightened that if Ed knew the story behind him that he would run off. God knows that if he heard such a story he wouldn't want to stick around.

Besides, when Edward found out about Maes, he would have to know that Roy was still in love with him. And that, if nothing else, would cause Edward to leave.

He would just have to hope that Edward would never ask. Hope he wouldn't want to know what it was that kept him away.

—**xx—**

_**A/N:**__ okay! I have no idea where that came from! But, hey, it's done! And I think it makes up for how terrible the last chapter was, haha. I really hate how terrible the first parts of this story are, before I had the whole plot down and knew what I was even writing about. I was dumb and young, and I apologize! Can't we all just move past it?_

_Hopefully. Well, the story is obviously about to take a huge turn, so I suggest you stay tuned! Tell your friends that I'm not dead and I'm a little bit better at writing than I used to be. Anyway, I hoped you enjoy it. The story is about to get dramatic and I'm excited, because I've been waiting to write this part for a long time!_

_Alright. Thanks for reading—please review!_

_maria_


	12. Another Heart Calls

**Chapter 12 – Another Heart Calls**

—**xx—**

** Sunlight peeked through the blinds, somewhat illuminating the bedroom. **Ed stirred under the thick covers, feeling uncomfortable as the rays began heating the fiery bedspread. He grumbled softly and began to throw the blankets away when he realized an arm was wrapped around him, securing the blanket in place. Struggling with the arm around him, Ed found that the more he tried to escape, the tighter that Roy would hold him. Eventually, after putting up a good fight, he turned to wake his partner up, fully intending on giving him a good lecture about the fact that he was _not_ a person who "snuggled."

However, when he fumbled around to rouse him, he was stopped short. "God dammit," Ed mumbled, his cheeks heating against his control, "this is really gonna take some getting used to."

There were few things that truly left the blond completely devoid of words—him not being obnoxious was something of a miracle—but Roy's sleeping face, point blank, seemed to continue to leave him totally speechless. Edward freed his flesh hand from Roy's grasp to reach forward, tentatively, to run his fingers across his cheek. It seemed unreal to be here, that everything had fallen so _easily_ into place, and that they could finally be together. Ed had never dreamed that from that first day that he saw him in that hallway, feeling the frightening pressure of a first crush in his chest, that it would somehow develop into this; this mutual _love_—goddamn it, that was a scary word!—between them that felt right and _real_. For the first time in his life, Ed wasn't worrying about the next Honors Literature paper, or what the Pythagorean identity for sine was; for the first time, school wasn't his main concern. Roy had inserted himself into this brain and his heart and had taken a good, permanent residence there, and for some reason, it felt right.

To be honest, Edward didn't trust it.

Maybe it was the fact that he had been let down before, or that Roy's past reputation was still cemented in his memory, but he could not completely trust the way they were suddenly together and everything was happily ever after. Edward Elric doesn't believe in "happily ever after" because it isn't possible. The blonde pursed his lips in deep thought, remembering suddenly the events that had occurred just yesterday. Edward had opened up easily with his own dark past; what was so devastating in Roy's that he could even begin to say anything? All he had told him was that his family was in Japan. Worry tugged at Ed's stomach, anxiety coursing through his veins. Ed had not been one to accept ignorance easily. If there was something he didn't know, then he would go through hell and back to discover just what it was that he didn't know.

Edward's hand fell from Roy's to his shoulder and down to his waist. Maybe he was just being paranoid; besides the stunt he pulled with the hostess at dinner last night, and his strange behavior at school, Roy's actions had been genuine and loving—if not a little perverted—and he really had no reason not to trust him. In fact, when they had gotten back to the apartment last night, the two had gotten into bed and talked until Ed had dozed off. Roy had not pressured him into doing anything sexual—not that he would have completely objected—and had allowed the night to end rather peacefully. The blonde sighed softly and pulled Roy close absentmindedly; clearly, he was being a pessimist, as usual, and he probably just needed to lighten up. Roy had no secrets; there was no huge conspiracy behind him.

"And here I thought you were completely opposed to snuggling, Edward."

"Ack!" Edward started, "Bastard! How long have you been awake?"

"Good morning to you, too, squirt," Roy replied, casually avoiding the question, "how did you sleep?"

"Who are _you_ calling so short that they wouldn't notice their boyfriend being awake?"

Roy chuckled, nuzzling into Ed's hair lovingly.

Edward grumbled, "I'm _not_ short, bastard; and I slept just fine." Taking advantage of Roy being awake, he moved his boyfriend's hand and threw back the covers. "Ugh, thank God. It was too fucking hot in here." He released his hold on Roy and moved away from him, despite the frown forming on Roy's face.

The older sighed and sat up to stretch, "I guess this means it's time to get up?" It wasn't so much of a question as it was an admittance of defeat.

"Yep, 'cause you don't have any food, and you're gonna need to go get some goddamned groceries if you expect me to make you any food." Ed climbed out of bed and ran his fingers through his hair. "That's why I'm here, remember?"

Roy chuckled and moved from the bed into his bathroom, returning with a hairbrush in hand. He grabbed Ed's shoulder and leant down, "Let me do that for you."

"What?" Ed growled, "What do you think you're doing, bastard?"

"Helping you," Roy responded curtly, sitting adjacent to him on the bed and running the brush through his hair. "Stop squirming, I've done this before. I do have a sister, you know."

Ed's face lit up in embarrassment as Roy's fingers separated his hair into parts. As he twisted it into a braid, Ed tried his luck. "So, you have a sister? Older or younger."

A genuine smile spread on Roy's lips, exposing his teeth. It was one of those smiles that was a rarity and was meant to be admired, for Roy didn't smile like that very often. "Yeah, I do. Her name is Kora," he opened up easily. "She actually lives in California, one hundred or so miles from here. She's twenty-two." He tied the plait together with an elastic supplied by Edward, who eagerly spun around to meet Roy's eyes and listen to his story.

"She's basically my best friend in the whole world," he smiled, "I'm sure you can relate, you have Alphonse. Of course I have friends in school, but there's a bond that you get from a sibling that you really can't match. She helped me through a lot of stuff that I couldn't have gotten through on my own."

Edward felt a tiny, selfish pang of jealousy, but brushed it away at the hope of Roy telling him more about his personal life. "You have any other siblings?"

"Yeah, a little brother. He's twelve." His smile faded a little, "we're not all that close. James doesn't exactly approve of a lot of my, well," he sighed, "my choices. He's ridiculously judgmental for a seventh-grade kid.

"Oh, thanks for reminding me, I haven't called Kora in a couple days. She doesn't know about you," Roy smiled, leaning forward to steal a chaste kiss, and then leaving the room.

Ed sat, stunned. Roy's _choices_? What choices could he have made that would cause his own little brother to dislike him? Perhaps he hadn't been being paranoid after all.

—**xx—**

**The scent of something buttery and breakfast-y lured Roy from the bathroom** into the kitchen, where he was greeted with Edward frying eggs and bacon in one of his dress shirts. Roy frowned.

"What are you wearing?"

Ed looked up and grinned. "That nice shirt the hostess seemed to like so much last night." He looked down to flip the bacon. "Do you think she'll like it with grease and cheese all over it?"

Roy stared, but then looked down and chuckled. "Well, I guess I didn't really like it anyway, besides," he rounded the counter and wrapped his arms around him to purr in his ear, "it looks much better on you."

Edward blushed and softly nudged him away with his elbow. "Stop it, or I'll burn you with bacon grease."

Roy licked his lips and lifted the shirt, revealing the boxers hugging Ed's waist, completely ignoring his request. "Mmm, so gorgeous."

Ed spun around, cheeks flushed and eyebrows narrowed, spatula in hand. "_Stop_. Can't you keep your god damn libido in check for five minutes while I make _you_ breakfast, you stupid bastard?"

Roy smiled, "You're making breakfast for _me_? Awww," he pinched Ed's cheek, "aren't you just the cutest?"

Edward grumbled and slapped Roy's hand away, flushing deeper before wheeling around, "N-no. What I meant was that I was making breakfast for _me_, but if there's some left, then maybe you can have some."

"Haha, sure, whatever." Roy opened the fridge to remove some juice as Ed plated up the hot food.

"There. Eat," Ed mumbled, taking a seat next to Roy as he poured himself a drink.

The two sat in silence, eating their identical breakfasts, until Roy asked out of the blue, "So, Ed, have you ever even been with a girl?"

The current piece of bacon Ed had been chewing was promptly replaced back on the plate it came from via spit-take, before looking up at his boyfriend, shocked. "W-what? You _know_ I was a virgin before a couple nights ago!"

Roy laughed, "Yes, yes, I am well aware, but I was just wondering. I mean, you've had to have kissed a girl sometime, right? I mean, I'm not it, am I?"

Ed bit his lip, "Well… actually… in the seventh grade, I went to this party and we played that one game… er… spin the bottle or seven minutes in heaven, whatever it's called. I'd never been a big "party-goer" but my brother and Winry talked me into going. So, we were playing this game, and it was my turn to spin, and I got paired up with this really pretty girl, I think she was cheerleader or something. I dunno, everyone seemed pretty pumped about it. They were all congratulating me and stuff, and Russel pulled me aside to tell me to "be sure to touch those amazing tits" or something. I dunno, it seemed like I was getting pressured into it more than anything. But, she took my hand and pulled me into the back room and was like, "you're pretty cute" before she started attacking me with her lips."

"And…?" Roy asked, "Was it totally awful?"

Ed laughed, "No, not at all. I mean, kissing feels good or whatever. Her lips were soft and she was really into it because she was kinda slutty, I guess. I wasn't _too_ into it, but it was nice."

Roy grinned, "Did you touch her boobs?"

Ed flushed, "Uh… yeah… I did." He looked away and admitted, "She took off her shirt about two minutes in, so I sorta felt obligated to. They _were_ pretty big, I guess. I dunno. I didn't get what everyone was so excited about. It didn't feel so special to me."

Roy stared unbelievably for a few seconds before chuckling, "Wow. You_ are_ gay."

Ed grumbled, "You bastard. I shouldn't have even told you the story."

Roy frowned and pulled his lover out of his chair and into his lap, "Oh, come on, don't be like that." He nuzzled his neck, "I'm glad you feel that way. Do you know how the girls around you talk about you?"

Edward snorted, but didn't remove himself from the seat he had in Roy's lap. "What are you talking about?"

"A couple of girls on the tennis team and even a few on the cheerleading squad were talking about you, about how you were single and 'cute.'" Roy tightened his grip, "Can you imagine my jealousy when I heard? You're mine."

"Was I yours when this occurred?"

"Er… well, no. But I was still jealous." Roy laughed, "But now I know that that isn't a problem, because you don't even like girls."

"I'm sorry that I'm not like you! I won't fuck everything that moves!" Edward pouted and then stood from the chair and took the cleaned plates.

Roy frowned, hurt. "Hey… come on… don't be mean like that. I'm not doing that anymore." He moved across the floor and took his boyfriend into his arms. "I only want you, Edward. I _love_ you."

Edward flushed, "I… love you, too."

"I'm a jealous guy," Roy admitted, "I don't wanna let you go. You being gay causes half the school to not even be an option for stealing you away."

Pulling out of Roy's embrace, Edward huffed and turned to him, "Look, _you_." He poked Roy's chest. "I'm not so easily_ stolen_, like some ugly piece of jewelry or a fancy car or something." Roy raised an eyebrow with a grin. "I love you, you stupid bastard. Why would I run off with some stupid floozy after all I've been through just to get you?"

Roy smiled. Edward was a strange individual, indeed. "I need a translator for you, runt," he pulled him back into his arms, "if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were being sweet."

Before Edward could make some loud outburst about not being shorter than a grain of salt or something equally stupid, Roy captured him in a kiss, soft and loving, as if saying, "I never want to let you go," without uttering a word. Edward dropped his defenses and let Roy's lips move softly and slowly against his, let his heart race and pressed his chest against Roy's so he could feel their hearts flutter together.

When the two parted, they each smiled. Roy ran his fingers through Ed's loose hair and said, "I know, Ed. I know you aren't going anywhere."

"Good," Ed smiled, and then turned to finish the dishes, "don't go underestimating my feelings, Mustang. I've done a lot of stupid, reckless things to get here."

—**xx—**

**"Okay, so I've made this list," **Ed said, pointing at the piece of scrap paper in Roy's hand, "so go get these things and I'll make you dinner tonight."

"Yes, Ed," Roy grumbled, pulling on his jacket, "I know how grocery shopping works, shockingly. I've done it before."

"Well," Ed sighed, collapsing on the couch, "I don't want you coming back with all the wrong things. I don't wanna have to go out to eat again tonight and then have some slutty girl with big tits hitting on you again."

Roy laughed, "Okay, okay, I got you. I'll pick this stuff and few other things up. Just relax, and maybe put some clothes on, since you're still wearing my now grease-covered shirt."

"Aw, is it ruined?" Ed grinned, "That's too bad. Looks like you'll have to throw it out."

Roy chuckled and then leaned over Ed to kiss him, softly at first, but then Ed grabbed Roy's collar and pulled him closer and shoved his tongue in his mouth. Roy melted a little and fell on top of his boyfriend, and began unbuttoning his shirt. When it lay open, he ran both of his open palms against Ed's chest, sending chills down each of their spines. Roy began kissing down Ed's neck, biting softly, and then pulled him up by his shoulder to yank the shirt from his shoulders and throw it in the corner, and then let Ed do the same to his jacket and shirt. The two pressed their chests together and moaned softly, and then Roy collapsed on top of Ed, kissing his cheek softly.

"What," Roy asked, breathlessly, "was that all about?"

Ed grinned and kissed him again, "I just like knowing that I can do that pretty much whenever I want."

Chuckling, Roy sat up to put his shirt and jacket back on, "exhilarating, isn't it?"

"Yeah—wait!" Ed growled, "you arrogant bastard!"

"Alright, I'm outta here," Roy leaned down, kissing his nose, "see you in an hour or two, shrimp!"

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT THE SHRIMP IN THE SEA WOULD TOWER OVER HIM AND HE WOULD BE CARRIED AWAY BY THE SMALLEST CURRENT?" Ed opened his eyes, but realized he was shouting at a closed door, and growled. "Bastard."

And then, he realized he was alone in Roy's apartment. What, exactly, was he supposed to do for the next hour or so? He stretched out on the couch and yawned, before standing and moving to the bathroom. A shower seemed like a good start.

—**xx—**

**Ed stared down the journal on the bedside table for a second time** as he towel dried his hair. He had a good thirty minutes to snoop on his boyfriend, and it was even more tempting now that Roy had been so secretive and curt with all of his answers the previous evening. Ed tossed the towel across the room and put his hand on the book, it's rough cover inviting him for a second time together. Ed gulped, the grabbed the journal back up. It fell open to the last entry before he could find where he left off. Curiously, he read:

_November 20_

_ I can't deal with these sleepless nights. I _want_ to sleep, but every time I close my eyes, I see __him__. I don't wanna dream about the stupid little runt. I thought I was past all this. I thought the gay thing was just some passing phase or something that was special with Maes and I. I didn't know that it was permanent. And I didn't know that I'd be getting all hot and bothered over some stupid freshman. I keep having these dirty dreams about a kid I barely know. I just want to get him the fuck out of my head. How am I supposed to do that? I wish I knew. I was starting to feel like I was finally getting over Maes. Why is Edward taking his place? And I why am I so scared to let him take his place?_

Edward blinked. Who _is _this "Maes" person? Roy mentioned him earlier in the journal… maybe he should read back. It just… felt so wrong, prying into Roy's past like he had some right to, like he was suddenly allowed to read his journal and know his past just because they'd slept together.

But, Edward couldn't resist. There was a plethora of information in his hands, right here, about the person who had suddenly just taken first place in his life, and he couldn't just put it back. If Roy wasn't going to tell him what was going on, he was just going to have to figure it out for himself.

Ed flipped the pages back to where he had been before, looking for August 4th. Upon finding it, he gulped, and continued where he'd left off.

_Also, we've started talking about Maes. She's being really cool about the whole thing, but this is the most confusing thing I've ever dealt with. It's getting to the point where I just don't know what to do anymore. I mean, he's my best friend, but lately, we've been staring at each other like there's something else there or something. I actually feel awkward around him. I don't understand. We've been together our whole lives. What's changing?_

Ed raised his eyebrow quizzically and turned the page. What… what was this?

_August 17_

_ Summer break is over tomorrow and fall session is about to start, but I wish that things would just slow down. I need way more time to figure out what that kiss meant before I can go back to school and see Maes every day. Maes __kissed__ me. We were sitting out on the balcony two nights ago in our sleeping bags, looking at the city, and we had one of those weird staring matches again where neither of us wants to look away, and he took off his glasses, then took off mine, and he kissed me. My first kiss, and it's from my best friend. I don't even know how to feel about this, I can't even tell Kora. I mean, I think I __liked__ it. What does that mean? We haven't talked since, haven't even seen each other. I have no idea what's changed. But, after we kissed, neither of us said anything. He just sat with me, then grabbed my hand, and I was okay with that._

_ Am I falling in love with my best friend? What does that mean for me? I mean, he's a guy! I just need more time._

What the hell _was_ this? Roy had… a boyfriend? Or at least, almost had one? How much about him did he not know? He looked up at the clock in the room and saw that Roy had left thirty minutes ago. He certainly did not have enough time to read all the way through to the end. He flipped through the pages, but stopped at a page that was worn and the writing on the page left deep marks in the paper, like someone had pressed the pen quite hard in haste.

_April 15_

_ I just don't know what to do anymore. This is all my fault. I can't even go see him in the hospital. God __dammit__ I love him so fucking much. I don't wanna let him go. They're making me leave, they think it's too dangerous for me to live here anymore. But I don't care, I just wanna hold his hand and be by him through all this. I know that I could have prevented this but I was too stupid and now he's hurting. The bastards broke his fucking legs! I just wanted to love him. I just wanted him by my side. He was everything. Now I have to leave and go to another fucking __country__ because I was stupid and got us hurt. I just don't know what to do. I want to just break down and cry. Maes is everything. I don't want anything else. But I have to leave._

_ I just don't know._

Ed dropped the journal on the ground, causing the pages to flutter and then the cover to slam shut. "Oh… my god…" Ed whispered. Roy had a past. He had a whole life that Edward didn't even know about. How the fuck had he even fallen in love with him? He barely knew him! What happened with that Maes boy? How did he get hurt? And from the looks of the journal entry, Roy didn't leave out of love with him. He'd never heard Roy talk about _anything_ like that. How did he know that he wasn't still in love with this boy?

Ed took a deep breath and picked the journal up, calming his suddenly jumpy nerves. He had no idea when any of this had happened, there was no year on the journal entry. It could have been _years_ ago. There was no way that Roy was still into his past boyfriend. He'd told _him _that he loved him. Ed sighed his relief—he'd been too quick to judge the situation, he was being paranoid. He replaced the journal on the bedside table, and leaned back to let his heart slow.

Then, he heard a ringing from the other room that didn't sound like his own cell phone. Edward chuckled, "That forgetful bastard. He must have left his phone here." He pushed himself off the bed and went to go inspect the ringing source.

Ed picked the phone up off the counter in the kitchen. It was one of those obnoxiously complicated texting phones that you had to flip open to reveal a keyboard. Ed had never been too interested in such phones. Winry would have gone bat-shit over it, though. He chuckled and flipped it open, but then he stopped, breathless.

The text was from a "Maes Hughes."

Edward bit his lip. So much for everything being over.

"No," he shook his head, trying to remain positive and practical, "they were best friends, I'm sure that they're still just friends."

But, still, he opened the text. And all of his worst fears were proved exactly right when he read,

"I know, Roy. I'll always love you, too."

—**xx—**

_**A/N: **__Hi guys! I'm still alive! And I still wanna write!_

_maria_


End file.
